Atelier Uzumaki
by Demon Eyes Laharl
Summary: One fateful day, Uzumaki Naruto realizes the full implication of his lineage. It was bad enough that one of the most powerful Mana has been sealed inside him, but be is also the heir and survivor of a strong line of Alchemists. AU elements in characters.
1. Chapter 1

Maybe the gods hated him. There was no other explanation.

It was already the third time, Uzumaki Naruto thought darkly, as he looked towards the proud parents who had come and celebrated their children's graduation from the Ninja Academy. It would be a joyous occasion, especially from the civilian hopefuls who would have their children help the family earn money by taking on missions.

Plus… the demon didn't graduate.

Naruto snorted. He could feel those cold eyes on him again. The adults would whisper, away from the blonde and away from their children,

'Look at him…'

'Yeah… it's a good thing he didn't graduate. Imagine him, the demon…'

'Hush. It's illegal.'

'No one can hear us anyway…'

However, Naruto did. For some reason, the wind would come, and carry their inaudible whispers to him. Maybe the gods really didn't like him. Bad enough to have their eyes stare at him coldly, did he have to hear every insult they whispered to him?

He breathed a sigh. The old man Hokage will probably make him attend the Academy for another year. He would be looking at him with a small smile, telling him that everything would be okay, even though Naruto knew, the old man would be sorely disappointed.

Sakura would go on… leaving him behind. Goodbye, his first love. He'll never forget her… her hair like cherry blossoms flapping with the wind, her very big and sexy forehead, the fire of her anger as her hand, closed, would touch his face with enough force to crumble a wall... she would always linger in his heart.

On the plus side… he won't have to see that dark haired brooding bastard's face for a while.

The wind blew a gentle breeze on his left cheek, prompting him to look. A man… the assistant homeroom teacher, Mizuki, if Naruto remembered correctly. He had a slight smile on his face. His eyes looked towards Naruto's with a slight glint.

The wind shuddered. Naruto could feel the air turn cold. What was the man doing here?

"Naruto," the teacher called.

"Yeah?" Naruto asked, stiff.

"Do you want to graduate?" Mizuki asked.

The wind turned again, but Naruto chose to ignore it for now. Mizuki's had gotten his attention.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Well… there's a make-up quiz, which I think is perfect for you…"

Naruto took it back. Maybe the gods did like him after all.

* * *

"…"

The third Hokage looked at the spectacle in front of him. The image registered to his brain, and his brain responded by storing that said image as fast as possible to his brain cells, which meant pumping more blood to it in quick succession. What followed afterwards was the natural response when after the image was quickly recorded… the blood had to rush out of the brain, and the fastest way was through the nose.

Naruto grinned as the old man, like a rocket, launched backwards as the blood spurted out of his nose like a fireman's hose. That was pretty easy… but then again, this was a test. He'd be sure to thank the old man when the whole thing was done. After all, the Hokage is a busy occupation, yet even with the ramen lunches, weekly visits, he still had time to help Naruto out during his make-up quiz.

Now… where did Mizuki-sensei say where the scroll was?

Looking around, Naruto was impressed by the amount of scrolls of various of sizes present. Other than the public library, which was certainly much bigger, the quality of the scrolls was much better here. The place was cleaned well. The scrolls looked well preserved too. For a few minutes, the blonde Uzumaki couldn't help but admire the look of the place. So much knowledge…

The wind blew his cheek. Shaking his head, Naruto realized he was wasting time. Now, Mizuki described the scroll as big… maybe as big as he was, supposedly. The blonde stopped the urge to snort in disbelief, and yet, there it was, two scrolls that were as big as he was.

Which one, though? Naruto thought. Mizuki didn't say any specifics, just said it was his size, and quite thick. For a moment, he wondered which to take when the wind came and whispered to him again, pointing towards the scroll nearer the window, where the Third Hokage had landed, still unconscious. Grabbing that one, he quickly made his exit, laughing, and the wind laughing with him. Jumping outside the tower, he immediately went from tree to tree, slightly celebrating on the coup.

He was finally going to graduate!

Gaining good distance, deep in the forest, Naruto finally arrived at the meeting area, near an abandoned shack where Mizuki told him they would meet. From here on, he would now try to master one jutsu from the scroll, show it to his teacher, and earn his forehead protector!

Humming a happy tune, Uzumaki Naruto sat down smiling, happy as he wondered what kind of special jutsus would await him as he opened the scroll, unrolling it as he read the first words that appeared.

**A Beginner's Guide to Alchemy**

Ah… alchemy, Naruto grinned. So cool. So…

Wait. What is alchemy?

Unrolling more portions of the scroll, his eyes scanned the text. It was odd… Naruto wasn't exactly the scroll type of guy. He never really listened to history, or theoretical applications of ninjutsus (which consisted of hand seal formations and its effects on chakra). He would either skip those classes altogether, or just sleep like good ol' Shikamaru, but even then, he could not for the life of him remember anything about alchemy.

From what he could understand, Alchemy was something akin to cooking. There were some recipes for certain stuff, plus there were even numbers (oh, gods, numbers. Naruto thought he escaped them after graduating from Math last year) and statistics. The more he scanned, the more and more he realized something.

There were no jutsus.

"Bah! Boring!" Naruto shouted, utterly disappointed. What the hell… did he get the wrong scroll or something? Sheesh… after all that work… and then he panicked when he realized that what he had at hand was not what he needed to pass.

"Kuso!" he cursed, realizing he must have gotten the wrong scroll. He was about to roll it back again when he felt something inside of him tremble. Looking up, Naruto watched his surroundings. The wind was still with him apparently, but something else what at work.

_**Keep reading.**_

The blonde jumped up as he heard the voice. Unlike the wind, this one was clear and understandable.

"Who's that!?" Naruto asked, grabbing his kunai out. The wind blew slightly, surrounding him as if to protect him, but he could also feel its confusion. There was no one here.

_**Keep reading the scroll, brat. **_

"Why?" Naruto could only ask. There was nothing in this scroll but some food recipes. He had no use for such things.

_**Don't you crave for attention? Don't you wish for acknowledgement? This is your chance… the art of Alchemy. Used by the age of the Ancients, passed down, obscured to nonexistence except for a chosen few… like you Uzumakis. **_

That got his attention. Uzumakis practiced this stuff? Even better… they actually existed? All his life, Naruto thought the name was just given to him. He was an orphan, and no one, not even the old man Hokage seemed to know much about his parents. Moreover, at Konoha, blondes were pretty rare. The only blonde family he had seen was Ino's, and even then, they had specialty techniques.

He was pretty much glad to find out that his family had some as well… though he had no idea what it was. It must have been pretty boring if all the Uzumakis could do was cook.

_**Fool! **_

Nartuo jumped up, surprise as he heard the voice scream at him.

_**Alchemy is nothing like the simplistic act of cooking! It is a marriage of science and magic in an effort to create the ultimate material. It is coveted for being able to turn seemingly simple products into effective medicines, weapons, armor, and items that make life for you puny humans easier. For an Uzumaki, you're the dumbest one in history.**_

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, looking around again. What the heck was the voice's problem? Sure, he wasn't book smart like his dear Sakura-chan, but that didn't mean he needed to take that from some… some…

Who was the voice anyways?

_**I am the Mana of Chaos. The ultimate being. Be thankful that I am speaking to someone as lowly as you, puny brat for I would never waste my time with you otherwise. Be thankful that a grand being like me is speaking to such an unworthy little boy. **_

"Then shut it!" Naruto shouted, his anger now overflowing in his system. The voice was now laughing, mockingly at him. What was its problem anyways? Mana of Chaos? What was Mana anyways?

_**You just read about Mana in the scroll. Idiot. **_

The voice chuckled darkly as Naruto shook with anger again. Okay, so maybe he did (he didn't recall as he just skipped most of the texts that weren't seal sequences to do certain jutsus), but did the voice have to try to antagonize him in every step?

_**Yes. Moron. **_

"I'm going to shut your DAMN YA-"

"NARUTO!"

The blonde could only jump in surprise when Iruka appeared in front of him, looking at him with a very annoyed expression.

Oops.

"Ehehe… you found me," Naruto scratched the back part of his head.

"Naruto…" Iruka growled softly. Damn the boy… what was with that stupid look on his face? Didn't he realize he had just assaulted the Hokage and stole a scroll from the Tower? "What do you think you were doing!?"

"Well… Mizuki-sensei said I'd pass if I could learn just one technique from this scroll," Naruto laughed nervously again. "But… I think I kinda got the wrong one. There was nothing here except some weird ass recipes and…"

As Naruto continued to speak, Iruka's mind began to race at what the blonde had told him earlier. Was that true? Did Mizuki, the one who had called his attention to this in the first place, knocking the door of his apartment in the middle of the night, saying Naruto had gone and stole the Forbidden Scroll. If what Naruto said was true… then…

Killing Intent. Automatically, Iruka shoved the surprised Naruto out of the way as multiple shuriken and kunai flew towards their direction, groaning as the sharp metal hit his shoulder. Iruka had been able to parry the others away with his own kunai, which he drew the moment the killing intent had washed over him.

Naruto was on the ground, shocked for a moment. He had almost complained the moment Iruka had tried and pushed him down, but that died down when his teacher's blood got to his face. His eyes traveled towards Iruka's shoulder, where an offending kunai had lodged itself, piercing his skin, and profusely bleeding.

What the hell was going on?

"Hehehe…"

"W-who's there!?" Naruto stuttered, looking around. There was an eerie laugh hanging on the air. Evil. Hateful. Seeing no one, he had to ask again, "who's there!?"

"My, my, Iruka… how very noble of you."

The trees! Naruto's eyes quickly abandoned the ground, and looked up. His eyes widened as he realized who it was.

"Mizuki-sensei!?" the blonde looked at the fully armed chuunin with shock. "Wha… what the hell is going on!? Why are you attacking Iruka-sensei!?"

Mizuki could only grin. He had so much to tell him.

* * *

"You… are the Nine Tailed Demon Fox!"

The line had repeated over and over his head, many times. It made so much sense… the reason why his birth date coincided with the celebration of Kyuubi's demise, the reason why the villagers seemed to look at him funnily, their whispers, their icy and hateful eyes…

Iruka… Naruto looked at the man. Iruka's parents were killed by him. The man must have hated him so much. No wonder he was so… angry with him when he caught him doing pranks, or when he was sleeping in class, or screwed up a jutsu.

Iruka was like everyone else, he hated… him.

_**I was right. You are a moron. **_

Naruto's head snapped back as the voice once again entered his senses. He looked around again, seeing if anyone else was there… but the only one he saw was Iruka's face as he appeared in front of him.

And a very wet thudding sound followed.

Knocked off his feet, the blonde looked could only feel the wetness in his cheeks as Iruka looked at him from above, crying. He spoke warm words, though Naruto couldn't hear them. All his attention was focused on the older man's eyes.

They were caring, even in tears.

Yes. The harsh voice was right. Naruto was being a moron. He couldn't respond to that.

"Che… using your own body to protect that demon? Iruka, you gotten soft," Mizuki declared, smirking. "You know, this could have gone easier. All you had to do was stand back… let me take his life, and everything would have been over. After all… it's not him you want to protect. Its just that scroll he has on his back."

Iruka could only mumble, now on his knees while his left arm was trying to move Naruto away. The boy did so, frozen somewhat, shocked. The older man could only give him a re-assuring smile.

"What was that?" Mizuki asked. "I didn't catch you there."

"I said… SHUT UP!" Iruka shouted as he grabbed the offending oversized shuriken on his back with his right hand as he stood up. Twirling it perfectly, he flicked his wrist along with his waist and threw the shuriken back at the other man, who dodged it easily.

"Pathetic! Your body movement lacked and made that throw weak!" Mizuki laughed as Iruka went down after the throw, the injury finally getting to him. "Why even go to such lengths to protect him? You know who he is!"

"Yeah… I know who he is," Iruka growled darkly, his eyes meeting Mizuki's.

"Then why are you defending the Kyuubi?"

"Kyuubi?" Iruka chuckled, his eyes never wavering. "I don't see him anywhere. Behind me… is Uzumaki Naruto. A hard working student." He paused. "One of my best."

Naruto looked at his teacher with some awe and respect. The man cried for him. He bled for him. And now… Naruto closed his eyes as his own tears formed… the man was the first one, other than the Hokage, to accept him as he was. The feeling…

The feeling of joy was indescribable.

_**And now you get sappy. **_

Naruto ignored the voice. He knew what he had to do. There was nothing else in his mind right now other than that thought.

He had to protect Iruka-sensei.

_**How are you going to, brat? Do you think you can even beat him? A chuunin? And what are you? A boy who couldn't even do a clone technique. You will never win against him. **_

The voice was right. He needed power…

"Then… die first, and wait for him as you travel towards the afterlife!" Mizuki declared, a second large shuriken spinning on his fingers.

Naruto could only grit his teeth. He needed power!

_**What kind of power?**_

Any kind of power will do, he thought. As long as it was enough to protect his precious person, any power that will allow him to protect Iruka would do!

_**Then come to me! **_

And everything faded to black.

* * *

The floor was wet, Naruto noticed. The forest had faded, giving way to what looked like a subterranean walkway. It was dark, humid and yet creepy at the same time.

He took a step.

The sound of the water dropping from the base of his sandals back to the floor was rhythmic, impossible to happen as Naruto had experienced from walking in wet surfaces, giving the place a more unnatural feel. The air was heavy… heavy with an odd energy that radiated in front of him.

He took another step. And another. And another, which finally led him into a big room with a big giant cage. In between the cage was a small paper with a seal written on it, and beyond… Naruto could only see two red eyes looking back at him.

"_**Hehehe… so… we finally meet, the last of the Uzumaki." **_

"You… the voice…"

Behind the eyes, nine lines moving at incredible speed smashed towards the walls at the side. The blonde realized who the source of the voice was.

"You're the nine tailed demon fox! Kyuubi!" Naruto declared.

"_**Che… I thought I have already told you? Demon!? Pathetic humans… labeling ignorantly. No… I am what I have told you. I am Kyuubi, the great Mana of Chaos!" **_

"What do you want!?" the blonde demanded, shivering slightly as the strange energy washed over him, more potently than before.

"_**A pact." **_

"A deal?" Naruto shook his head. "I refuse! You won't trick me that easily!"

"_**Stupid moron. So that is your conviction, brat? You ask for power, but when it finally comes to you… you refuse? Will I have to remind you again where you stand? Your teacher… your…" **_

It grinned evilly.

"… _**precious person is in danger. Haven't you made a vow to protect him? Or were those words empty?" **_

It laughed.

"_**So the last of the Uzumaki falls so far from the tree… your mother would weep at your cowardice." **_

Naruto growled. His fists closed, his eyes looking back at Kyuubi's, hard. The monster was right. He needed power. He had specifically said it could come from anywhere as long as it was power enough to protect Iruka.

"What do you want?" the blonde asked, knowing he was finally cornered. "You want me to free you? Want me to do blood sacrifices? What!?"

"_**Humans… definitely moronic. Even after saying I'm not some lowly demon but a great Mana you think I ask such demeaning demands. You want to know what I want from you brat? Fine. In exchange for giving you enough power to protect your precious teacher, I want you to continue what your lineage demands you to do. A pact made between a human and mana is only valid as long as the human is in pursuit of Alchemy."**_

"You want me to be a cook!?" Naruto shouted, looking angry. "NO! I'm gonna be a ninja!"

"_**Fool! An alchemist is the protector of life, who swears an oath to uphold the balance of the elements. Ninja, samurai, lords, merchants… they are certainly more than cooks!" **_

"Can I become a ninja and an alchemist?" Naruto asked.

"_**Your mother did the same. Why would it be different from you, brat?" **_

Maybe it was the talk about his mom being one that made Naruto veer a bit towards the promise… or maybe the fact that the alchemist's life about being some sort of protector of life and something and something about balance of some elements that enticed the blonde to really think about it.

For a moment, he forgot that he had been adamant about trusting the fox just a few moments ago.

"_**Plus I'll teach you to make some very powerful explosives." **_

And that sealed the deal.

"YOU'RE ON!"

Kyuubi grinned.

"_**And my part of the deal… I shall bestow you your first alchemic weapon." **_

"Oooh, what is it? A cool sword? A kunai that never misses its target?"

The only response Naruto got was a rather hard hit towards his forehead, strong enough to make him fall down and scramble on the wet floor.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! What the hell?" the blonde demanded, looking towards the offending projectile that had launched from the caged seal. It was a small box. Taking a few moments to look at it, Naruto took it, and pried the box open revealing… cards?

"_**Fate Cards… complex, hard to learn, and oh so perfect for the dim-witted like you." **_

"… w-what the hell am I supposed to do with this!?" Naruto shouted, looking back towards the red eyes looking at him with amusement.

"_**It's an alchemic weapon. Virtually unbreakable, and do have special properties. Take the cards out…" **_

Naruto obeyed, looking somewhat confused. How the heck were these supposed to be weapons? The cards didn't even look that special… almost all of them are blank, except for two cards. One had a picture of himself, and the other was a picture of a fox with nine tails. The two cards were beside each other.

"_**Fate Cards bestow the gift of foresight. It represents the flow of fate of a certain time, as you can see, for example, my card and yours are beside each other, representing our relative closeness to each other. Take a few steps back, brat." **_

Naruto did so, and noticed that the cards on his hands rearranged. His picture faded to blank, and reappeared a few places farther from Kyuubi's.

"Cool…!" Naruto stated, looking at his cards with awe.

"_**If you find it cumbersome holding those cards in your hand, spread them in the air right in front of you." **_

"How?"

Kyuubi growled. A giant paw suddenly emerged along with the eyes, surprising the blonde enough to take a few steps back, wondering if the paw was going to do anything. All it did was hover, cutting the air from left to right.

Naruto blinked, wondering what the fox was doing. Kyuubi just sighed, and cut the air again from left to right.

"_**Any time now moron."**_

"What do you… oh…!" and the blonde finally got it, taking the cards on his hand, and cut through the air from left to right, spreading them. To his surprise, they floated in front of him. "Awesome…!"

"_**Use it like this to free your hand or to make using the cards easier. I will teach you how very soon. Remember though… this only works when you keep still. Move even a step away, the cards will fall limp, useless, and you'll have to collect them again. Once you need to move, grab the cards, from right to left." **_

Naruto followed, and was surprised when he realized he didn't even need to take much action in taking back the cards as they easily jumped back to his moving hand. Completing the motion, the cards grouped back together to his hand.

"_**Lastly, the cards respond to your actions like it is another part of you, as long as you hold at least one of them on your hand. You'll be practicing that as soon as you save your teacher." **_

Naruto looked up towards the red eyes looking at him, the paw now absent in the shadows. He looked at the cards on his right hand, and breathed for a few moments, then back again towards the red eyes staring at him.

"Um… thank you," the blonde whispered slightly.

"_**Do not misinterpret, brat. I did not give you your weapon for your thanks, nor for anything else outside our little deal. I am not your friend." **_

Kyuubi's eyes narrowed and grew in size until Naruto could see its while face, bearing down on him with an evil grin. Its teeth glinted with danger and sharpness that the blonde could only step back, trying to swallow some saliva back as he found his throat drying immediately at the site.

"_**I am a Mana who has been trapped inside a puny human for years, tying my fate with yours. You die… I die. I will always look out for a way to get out, or at least make my stay a bit more… exciting.**_

"_**Now… leave. Save that precious friend of yours… and remember our pact."**_

* * *

Iruka growled as he tried to calculate how fast the projectile would travel, how powerful it'd be, and how he and Naruto could get away from it… but no matter how many scenarios the chuunin could think, all of them would lead to his death.

His body stopped responding. He couldn't even move anymore, even after trying to buy time by talking towards the traitor… he was losing too much blood, and he could feel the cold death slowly creeping on his body.

He would give out soon.

Iruka shook his head. So be it. It is the fate of every shinobi they would face some day. But… if he had to go, he would at least ensure the survival of the scroll and Naruto.

Then… a cold voice spoke behind him.

"Leave Iruka-sensei alone…"

There was a tentative step. Iruka could hear his student suddenly walk in front of him, covering him. His eyes widened in surprise. He wanted to tell the boy to run, get away as he was not yet ready to face Mizuki yet, but was stopped cold when he saw Naruto's right hand.

There was a red eye looking at him.

There was a slight stillness in the air, followed by complete shock as Iruka drew back to see the big picture. Naruto was now wearing a red tattered cape that seemed to act like it was on fire, coating the top half of his back completely before seemingly dissolve to nothingness on the bottom half. His right hand completely coated with the red cloth, with a big red eye on his backhand.

It was even moving. He could only stare.

* * *

Naruto looked hard at Mizuki, who seemed to watch him oddly. The blonde felt strange, as if he was filled with an odd energy, the same kind that the Kyuubi produced just a few moments ago.

He felt good.

He felt he could kick the traitor's ass.

_**So that's your friend eh? **_

Naruto blinked, hearing the voice, almost jumping. He looked at his hands. On his right arm, a red clothe covering his arm completely, and formed a glove for his hand, still holding the cards that had been given to him. However, he also noticed the big red eye looking back at him from his backhand.

His left hand was also covered, though his backhand in that hand showed that there was no red eye on it.

_**You look even uglier this close. **_

Kyuubi? Was the eye Kyuubi's?

_**No, it is the Easter Bunny's. Of course its mine, what do you think? Right now, we're in a state of unity as a part deal of our pact. Alchemists are fighters too as they always should always try to get the materials they use to synthesize themselves, that that means putting their life on the line against monsters, other alchemists, and even demons. **_

_**A Mana, like me, will enter a pact of an alchemist for beneficial purposes. Each mana has special properties, and each alchemist is different in their own way. Combining our powers will increase our strength proportionally, allowing us to both benefit in battle. **_

Combined strength? Did that mean that he, Naruto Uzumaki, has gotten the power of the almighty Kyuubi!?

_**Unfortunately… almost all my powers have been sealed. Therefore, you won't have the really cool powers like making tsunamis with one wave of your hand, or destroy mountains with another. All I can do right now is just give you an extra boost of energy. **_

Naruto groaned. Well… that was useless.

_**Shut it brat. **_

Naruto's mental reply died the moment he heard Mizuki suddenly laughing. His blue eyes darted towards the traitorous chuunin, the large shuriken stopped spinning on his hand as the man laughed.

"Look at that! Look at that! The demon shows its true colors! Can't you see Iruka!? Can't you see! It's him! The demon!" Mizuki laughed. "I will become a hero to all humanity… I will show them… how it is…" and once more, the shuriken began to on the man's hand. "… how it is to kill a demon. Once. And. For. ALL!"

_**This man annoys me more than you do. Brat, spread your cards! **_

Naruto complied, his right hand spreading the Fate Cards in front of him, and they floated in thin air. In the far left was Mizuki's picture, and on the far left, was Iruka's picture. On Iruka's right card, it was Naruto's picture.

"Before you even threaten anyone again… DIE!!!" Mizuki shouted the last part as he twisted his waist, putting his whole body on the throw. The shuriken flew fast and true towards the blonde, and the man could only laugh.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. The cards changed once more as a blank card suddenly changed and a picture of a large shuriken appeared.

_**Grab the shuriken card before it blanks out and reappear into the card beside it. Don't let that shuriken card reach yours.**_

Naruto complied again, though it took him a while because the speed of the shuriken was rather high. The shuriken-card that had appeared would quickly fade, turn blank, while the next card on its right would transform from blank to shuriken. In motion, it looked like the card was flipping towards the right, moving, instead of transforming.

In a rare instance of brilliance, Uzumaki Naruto just waited for a blank card in between his card and Mizuki's, and just grabbed that as it transformed.

The effect was immediate. When the blonde had gotten the card, the shuriken suddenly stopped moving from its position, still spinning in the air. Iruka's eyes widened in surprise, and Mizuki could only shout foul.

_**Now, you have a choice here brat. You can keep the card for future use, erase it to cancel the attack, or my suggestion… **_

Naruto could feel the grin forming on the fox's face.

… _**throw the attack back at him. **_

Naruto took the third, and Kyuubi explained quickly to him how. Placing the shuriken card back on the floating line of cards, he quickly motioned his hand holding the card and moved from right to left. The shuriken card immediately joined the line, and faded, setting a chain reaction of transforming cards, though instead of traveling towards the Naruto-card, it came towards the Mizuki-card.

The Shuriken that had stopped on its travel suddenly snapped back and went straight towards Mizuki. The man's eyes widened in utter shock and made a face that had Naruto smile. The chuunin panicked, and fell off the branch he had been standing on, luckily dodging the returned projectile.

He was still skilled enough to land on his feet, though now, he was completely shaken.

"You… YOU DEMON! TAKE THIS!" Mizuki shouted, throwing kunais towards the blonde boy, and dashed forward at the same time.

_**Take the kunai card that appear, and instead of throwing it back, put forth a bit of my energy to erase them, and ready your cards for close combat. **_

Naruto could only nod, very impressed as Kyuubi accurately began to read the tide of battle, and followed without complaint. He was itching a bit to get in close and personal with Mizuki. Grabbing the kunai card (oddly, all the kunais Mizuki threw grouped to one card), he put forth some energy as Kyuubi had said, and watched as the card magically turned blank. The kunais that were thrown just stopped in mid-air and dropped to the ground.

Naruto quickly moved his hand from right to left, gathering all the floating cards back to his palm, and threw his arm towards the charging Mizuki. The cards flew straight and through, and connected like it was a whip, almost hitting the chuunin on the head if he hadn't dodged at the last second.

"Damn demon!" Mizuki shouted, getting more and more delirious. "Your tricks won't save you… I'll… I'll…!"

The older man couldn't even finish what he was saying, shaking like a leaf.

_**Nice showing brat. As a reward… let me teach you a skill you'll find more useful than that useless clone technique you couldn't do. Spread your cards, quickly, before he recovers and quickly grab the blank cards and your own card as well…**_

Naruto did so.

_**Concentrate more of my energy in them… **_

Naruto complied, and was faintly surprised when all the blank cards suddenly started transforming, showing his picture on them, albeit somewhat differently.

_**This is called **__**Jade Shift**__**. Spread the cards once more on line, and recall them to your palm. Then… kick his ass. **_

The blonde did so, and when he had recalled the deck back to his hand, he was suddenly surprised the forest suddenly shimmered as clones of Naruto popped out of nowhere.

Iruka's eyes widened. Judging by the shadows that were present in each clone, he realized that each Naruto had an actual physical body. It was eerily similar to the more advanced clone technique that Naruto had failed to perform earlier…

The blonde just smiled as he realized he now had at least more than a handful of helping hands, each of them with the same thought on their heads. Cracking their fingers as they closed their fists, they stared straight into Mizuki, who only looked at all the Naruto's in shock.

"Payback time, Mizuki-teme!" all the Naruto's shouted as they all charged in and followed Kyuubi's last advice to kick his ass.

And kick his ass they did.

* * *

Leaving the bloodied traitor on the forest grounds, who kept moaning for mercy, Naruto looked towards Iruka, who was now lying on the forest grounds. The boy's blue eyes widened and rushed towards the teacher, sliding down beside him.

"Iruka-sensei! Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted, shaking the man slightly.

There was no response.

_**Man lost too much blood. You took your time fighting him, moron. **_

Naruto shuddered. He needed to do something!

_**Calm down, brat. Maybe its time for you to start out your first synthesis. Use your clones to find a Spinacherb, a blue petal, and some water. **_

Naruto looked towards his clones, and they all looked confused. What was a Spinacherb?

_**Just look around, and I'll inform you if you found it. Damn it. Sheesh. Ancients… is this our alchemist? **_

Naruto ignored the insult as he and his clones scoured around for the said materials. One of them immediately found a bunch of blue flowers, and grabbed a petal from one of them, and the other found a small pond nearby and was able to extract some water with a water container that he had been carrying. It took a while but one of the Narutos finally found a Spinacherb, which looked like a cross between a spinach plant in a clover stem.

By the time all the clones gathered towards Iruka did Naruto realize something… he could recall everything the clones had done. He had thrown the question towards Kyuubi when the fox just bit back with a short reply…

_**It is because they are you. Now… listen carefully! **_

Naruto put away the question for another time as there was something more at stake now. As per instructions, the blonde followed Kyuubi's direction. He had crushed the Spinacherb along with the blue petal, and mixed it with the water inside the container. Putting some energy on it like the fox had said, he counted a few seconds before Kyuubi said that it was done synthesizing.

_**Quickly pour it in his mouth brat. Then pour some on his wounds. **_

Naruto followed, and was surprised to see the liquid came out crystal clear with a pale shade of blue. He poured it in Iruka's mouth, slowly, and to his relief, he saw his teacher's skin turn to a much more lively color. He quickly poured more of the blue-ish liquid on his hand and put it on the man's shoulder and back, his happiness soaring higher when the wounds were starting to close.

He was very impressed.

_**How do you like your basic healing medicine? Still think alchemy is still about cooking?**_

Naruto didn't reply, nor did he need to. His smile said it all.

Iruka woke up, pleasantly surprised to realize he was alive as Naruto dove to him with a warm hug, while there were clones around them, smiling, giving each other high fives. In the corner, still beaten and now unconscious was Mizuki, who would later be arrested by the ANBU, and taken to interrogation.

The teacher then asked the blonde boy to close his eyes, as he had a surprise for him.

The story always starts out the same. Uzumaki Naruto, dead-last of the Ninja Academy in the Hidden Village of the Leaf in Fire country, would fail after his third attempt to graduate to genin, wherein he would be fooled by Mizuki, the assistant teacher of Iruka, the homeroom teacher, to steal the Forbidden Scroll.

Maybe it was fate, or maybe the gods had other plans, but for some reason, Naruto had not in fact, stolen, the Forbidden Scroll, but instead a family heirloom that had been left for him when he was to reach a certain age. He was not aware of this knowledge. In fact, knowing said knowledge was the starting point of one important factor in the future of the elemental countries… the rebirth of the lost art of Alchemy.

The rebirth of the alchemic arts of the Uzumakis.

And lastly, the birth of the genin Uzumaki Naruto as he begins to make his mark on the world.

_**Atelier Uzumaki**_

* * *

_Author's Notes: _

_Well, this is a side project, combining my love for the games Atelier Iris 1 and 3 (I missed 2, I'm afraid) and Mana Khemia. I'll try to explain the universe and the system of the alchemy in the next chapter, as I have a feeling most of you are more familiar with the alchemy done in Full Metal Alchemist… also… :P Be surprised next chapter as I take a more drastic turn for this story to proudly call itself as an Alternate Universe type of story. _

_Later! _


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto sneezed as the dust crept up his nostril, disturbing the already dusty surroundings. He rubbed his nose, trying to stop the irritation that was spreading inside. He could only sigh as he sat down into the chair he had just cleaned and looked around…

Damn it was dirty. The whole place had been abandoned and closed for more than ten years already, so it came at no surprise. However, the blonde young genin and aspiring alchemist couldn't stop growling at the amount of work he had to put in, wondering why in the hell couldn't Kyuubi at least lend him a hand. He could use those clones of his… but the self-proclaimed Mana of Chaos just spoke these words:

_**Do it yourself you lazy moron. **_

Naruto growled, throwing the dirty towel he had on the ground in anger. One of these days, he was going to strangle that nine-tailed bastard.

* * *

In the Hokage's office, the leader of the prosperous Hidden Leaf Village calmly tapped the bottom of his pipe towards the edge of his table. Calmly taking out a lit paper, he slowly began to ignite the leaves in his pipe, and took a deep breathe, inhaling the smoke.

He stood up, and walked towards the window, and his eyes locked into a building a bit far from the Tower itself, yet almost relatively close outside the village wall. He sighed. He looked at the amount of paper work laid on his table…

He probably wouldn't be able to finish until late afternoon. Why did the Fourth have to die, and leave him with all these troubles?

Oh yeah… Kyuubi.

There was a knock on the door, and his secretary had called in, "Hokage-sama?"

"Yes?" the old man replied, slowly walking back to his desk.

"You have a visitor. Umino Iruka."

"Bring him in, please,"

The door slid open, revealing the scarred chuunin, who looked relatively healthy… very odd considering the man was knocking on death's door just last night if it wasn't for Naruto…

The Hokage chuckled mentally. He had a feeling the young man had come to visit him because of the blonde boy. After all… even he had not planned things to go this fast.

"Hokage-sama!" Iruka greeted the old man with a bow.

"At ease, Iruka. What is it?" the Hokage asked, waving off the bow.

"Is… is it true?" the younger man asked, shaking slightly. "Is it true you had Naruto transferred, and the transfer was to his family's house?"

The Hokage nodded.

"I… I didn't even know the he had a family," Iruka frowned. Or a house, even.

"Few do, Iruka. While it may have been too early, but the boy had shown promise when he was able to synthesize this…"

The old man took out a clear vial of blue-ish liquid. It was a very small amount, but Iruka had recognized it from yesterday… it was the medicine Naruto had given him.

"So… it's true? He's an actual...?" Iruka trailed off.

"Yes, an alchemist… it's been a long time since Konoha had been graced by one," the Hokage looked at the vial with reminiscing eyes. "Knowing that, there was no good reason to keep the boy at the dark about his legacy. I doubt the tenant inside him would even let him keep it quiet."

"The Kyuubi?" Iruka wondered. "What does that nine-tailed demon bastard have to do with this?"

"I honestly don't know all the details, Iruka…" the old man sighed. "When we Shinobi knew the tailed beasts' presence, we had been calling them demons… and were quite happy to call them that until we would be corrected on it." He chuckled. "Funny how it takes one young woman from another village to come here and lecture the Professor like me on my ignorance… it was like being a small child lectured by a teacher on how the world works."

"I… I don't get it," Iruka whispered, scratching the scarred part of his nose.

"Heh," the old man chuckled. "I don't get it completely either. Tell me, Iruka… what do you know about alchemists?"

The school teacher looked somewhat annoyed, as if the Hokage had suddenly asked him a question that was so rare to appear in an exam, and for good reason. Most of the study involving alchemy, a very mysterious art was basically useless to almost all shinobi and civilian work. Only those well versed in theoretical application and serious historians have any interest in it.

"Well… they are a very reclusive bunch. Very rare to even hear about one because they live like nomads, and travel from place to place, earning their keep by helping people in their travels. They are very well known for being able to create anything, from simple medicines, to rare items in minimal time."

"A very text-book answer. Did you know the one who had inputted those details was a woman named Uzumaki Kushina?" the Hokage asked.

"Uzu…maki?"

"Yes… Naruto's mother. Officially, she's nothing more than a surviving ninja of the Whirlpool Village, but those who have known her for some time… they'd know she was more than just a regular shinobi," the old man smiled somewhat, remembering the tomboy-ish young woman who had made an impact to another very important person in Naruto's life… the Fourth Hokage. "She was Konoha's alchemist. She was the one who had helped Tsunade make a medicine when the Great Epidemic occurred…"

Iruka's eyes widened.

"I thought Tsunade was the one who had developed the medicine!?" the young man asked, startled.

"Kushina didn't want the credit. Only a select few knew the impact she had on the village… because of her medicine, Konoha grew more prosperous as we had the only cure for everyone else. Money came in droves, and along with it, political power," and the Hokage frowned. "Of course… because of that medicine… some went to war for it as well."

"The Third Shinobi War," Iruka mumbled, looking down. He looked towards the old man who had been relaxing back on his chair. "Why are you telling me this, Hokage-sama?"

"Hmph, it's not a secret," the old man grunted. "It's just not… said. An Alchemist is an additional power for a country, for a country that has one in its ranks has the potential to dictate the tides. Alchemists can make reliable medicine cheaply, as young Naruto had shown, with a very common spinacherb, a couple of flower petals and water you can make a strong enough medicine to heal wounds instantly. I hear some medicines are able to cure fatal wounds, even. Alchemists can also make weapons and armor quickly and easily… the possibilities are endless for a village blessed with an alchemist present.

"They knew, of course that their talents would be used, hence why most would adopt the nomadic life style. Some would settle down, living lives other than alchemists, teaching their arts to their children in secret so it would be passed down along the line… Kushina herself wasn't a known alchemist until of course, the Great Epidemic happened, and now… the art has finally passed down to her surviving heir," the Hokage finished.

"Once young Naruto finally settles down, he'll finally start to learn his family's legacy. That's why I left the scroll he had stolen yesterday to him. Its funny how he was supposed to steal the Forbidden Scroll filled with jutsus that would most likely fulfill Naruto's wildest dreams… and instead, takes his mother's scroll. He must have been at least disappointed when he found out at first."

The Hokage chuckled, and Iruka smiled somewhat, but still restless. The more he learned about alchemists, the more he became worried for Naruto.

"Will… will he become a political tool?" the young man asked. Surely, if what the Hokage said was true, Naruto's status on the village just increased in value. It won't be long before someone in the council would start to get smart, and use Naruto as a means for their own gain.

"As of now… no," the Hokage sighed. "Naruto is still too young, and far too unskilled as an alchemist, or as a ninja. The council knows the boy knows his heritage… and they also know he's on his path to learn it, but I think this will be a good thing for now. His value as an asset has increased Iruka, as you said, and hopefully… maybe the villagers will now at least tolerate him. Unlike before…"

"Hokage-sama…" Iruka whispered as he saw the old man slump slightly. The Hokage never looked older.

"I tell you this, Iruka, because I can trust you with Naruto," the old man stated, looking at the younger man with a steady eye. "You value his friendship. You do not see him as a political tool, nor will you even abuse his friendship because of his skills. In some ways, he is now better off… but at the same time, the potential dangers he would encounter in the future have now exponentially increased.

"Alchemy is, as Kushina said, an art of the perfect marriage between science and magic," the Hokage continued, his voice now steady and cold. "No one can just be an alchemist, even if they know the recipes to synthesize things. It takes special circumstances, and a lot of outside help to be one."

"Outside help?" Iruka asked. "Like what?"

"Mana," the Hokage stated, smiling towards the younger man. "The elemental countries used to be full of them, but for some reason, they have been slowly dwindling in numbers. Kushina had told me once human beings were the cause, though she was never specific to a reason why. And right now… Konoha has a new alchemist, albeit a learning one.

"So please… protect him as much as you can. And be a person he can completely trust."

Iruka could only nod, slightly confused, as the Hokage dismissed him and went on his way.

* * *

_**Not bad. Took your time, though.**_

Naruto growled, now fully covered in dirt. He wondered why he had to transfer here anyway,… the whole area was too big for him. Sure, it was furnished, filled with weird glassware, pots and some scrolls, but he was happy with his apartment room. It wasn't much, but it was his home.

_**Haven't you heard the old geezer? This is your mother's home. This is her atelier… **_

Atelier?

_**It means a workshop or a studio, moron. This was your mom's workshop… and luckily, it hasn't been ransacked. Vials, synthesizing pots, study notes… this room's still a mess, but at least it's complete. Now, check for electricity and water…**_

A quick look at the break room, and the main water switch outside the house, Naruto found himself a working home. Replacing a few bulbs, his home had now have light. All he needed now was a good TV, his stuff from the old apartment, plus his toothbrush.

Oh… and a really good shower.

Darting outside, locking the front door, Uzumaki Naruto bounded towards the rooftops, trying to get a bigger view of the new place. Right now, he needed some soap, and some very good shampoo. Feeling his frog wallet on his inner jacket pocket, he bounded, jumping from roof to roof, his eyes canning the surroundings.

It was a better part of town than the old apartment complex was. He could see more specialty shops like that Yamanaka's flower shop, a blacksmith, and other shops. He was pretty thankful that Ichiraku Ramen was closer by, and had planned to take another bite of the tastiest meal on earth, but right now he'd like to be clean.

Entering a drugstore that also sold toiletries, Naruto earned a few looks. He had been expecting some cold stares, but instead, he was looked at with curiosity. There was some semblance of hatred in their stares, but not as noticeable as before.

Maybe it was because he was dirty, Naruto concluded. He smirked, slightly, imagining the look on the faces of those tightwads inside the drugstore, as he would grace their nice clean place with his dirty presence. Would serve them right… they had tried once to refuse his money until the old man Hokage straightened them out. They'd still look at him hatefully, but at least he could buy necessities.

Without a word, he entered, grinning at the wide eyes of the manager of the store, who had gotten a good look at the blonde's state of (or lack thereof) cleanliness. It didn't help that the store had now a rather odd musty stale smell of oldness that he hoped the janitors could remove… the manager sighed. He just prayed the blonde kid would leave fast.

Naruto bounded towards the soaps, shampoos, and even the towel section. He happily took his time in choosing the products, enjoying the seethed look on the prick-manager's face as he began to overact the role of being a careful consumer. He weighed two bars of soap with a rather overly loud voice, whether he should buy Ninguard or Konoha Spring, whether he'd get Mane and Hair shampoo or the funky-cool Kunshiruken shampoo (no contest, as Kunshiruken was Naruto's choice of shampoo as it gave his blonde hair that oh-so-perfect volume).

While he was deliberating on his act, he hadn't noticed a certain young person going right beside him until that person grabbed a bottle of Mane and Hair Shampoo.

"You're happy for a third time failure of a shinobi."

Naruto jumped away from the voice, surprised. He was about to shout bloody murder, ask why he was snuck up upon and berate the person for even insulting him when he realized who it was.

"Oh… it's you. Uchiha-teme," Naruto muttered, his eyes narrowing.

Uchiha Sasuke, rookie of the year, and over-all Naruto's least favorite person. The boy was arrogant, cold, demeaning, arrogant, cold, and demeaning. Yes. Three traits, repeated all over again. That is how Naruto viewed the last Uchiha… faults so bad, it had to said twice.

Oh, and because Sakura's head over heels for this asswipe. Sure, she had bad taste, but really, its Sasuke's fault for being… well, for being attractive to his crush.

"And get updated, I passed," the blonde finished, looking away. He felt his playful mood go away… just being so close to him sucked the sunshine away.

"Hn," Sasuke replied, smirking towards the blonde with his arrogant smirk. "Claims the liar."

"Says the emo-bastard," Naruto began to shoo his classmate away with his hand. "Go away, teme, I have more important things to do."

Sasuke covered his nose, and mocked, "Yeah, like getting a decent soap. What did you do, liar, found a home in the Inuzuka kennels now that you failed to even make a ninja?"

"Prolly better where you live," Naruto shot back. "Every time you come to class, you have that too musky smell that even Kiba complains about! Is your house that stinky you have to cover yourself with perfume so you wouldn't embarrass yourself in front of the fangirl group you have?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Oooh, what's wrong?" the blonde continued to instigate. "Did I insult wibble Sasuke's fweelings? Are you gonna cwy? Like a little girl?"

Promptly, a fist came out and hit the blonde directly in the nose, causing him to backpedal, and he cradled it. His eyes darted towards Sasuke, who looked read to dish out more punishment.

"Oi!" Naruto shouted, rubbing his nose. "That stung! You bastard!"

There was a cough behind him. Naruto jumped up again, and looked behind him to see the stuck-up manager, looking at Naruto with a small glare.

"Is this brat bothering you, Uchiha-san?" the man asked, looking towards Sasuke kindly.

"Hn," the raven-haired boy replied.

"Guess you need adults to cover your ass, eh, teme?" Naruto asked, earning two glares: one from the manager, and the other from Sasuke. "Hmph, I'm tired of this BS. I'm going."

Grabbing Ninguard soap, Kunshuriken (shampoo and conditioner) and a random orange towel, Naruto left the stuck-up manager and the Uchiha bastard and went for the counter. The cashier looked at the boy with a small glare, which was promptly ignored, and the two did their business.

"I'm very sorry, Uchiha-san," the manager stated, bowing slightly towards Sasuke who only stared at the blonde for a few minutes before he shrugged.

He took his shampoo and paid for it after Naruto had left.

* * *

Naruto growled, kicking a lone pebble unlucky enough to stand in his path. It was supposed to be a nice clean prank, just a way to show up those idiots in the drugstore only for it to backfire because some emo-bastard had gotten too close to him. It was like he had some sort of disease that affected happiness or something.

Naruto never really liked Sasuke. The boy was too weird, even for the blonde's standard. He was too clean, for one, overloaded on musky perfumes, and Naruto had rarely seen him use the bathroom. Yes, it was that weird. He at least saw Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, and Chouji at least once in the bathroom during their school days.

_**Plus he has a really girly face. **_

Naruto snorted, and laughed. Kyuubi had a point there. Maybe that's why he had so many damn fangirls… they were too young to appreciate a manly face like his.

_**Scruffy is a more accurate term. **_

Naruto growled. The bastard was insulting him again!

_**Of course I am. And would you please try to communicate to me mentally? I'm tired of hearing you refer to me in third-person. **_

Communicate mentally…? Naruto wondered if he could do that.

_**Of course you can, moron. Sheesh… Next time… just think the words you want to say to me, and I'm pretty sure I'll hear it. **_

_Oh… fine then. Nine-tailed bastard. Nine-tailed bastard. Nine-tailed bastard. Nine-tailed bastard. Nine-tailed bastard. Nine-tailed bastard. Nine-tailed bastard. Nine-tailed bastard. Nine-tailed bastard. Nine-tailed bastard._

_**I will enjoy eating you once I escape. **_

_Prisoner for life. Great Mana of Chaos, slaved by the great Uzumaki! _

_**I **__**really**__** will enjoy eating you once I escape, you puny brat. So shut it before I try to flood your thoughts with insults. **_

Naruto chuckled, and stopped for a moment trying to antagonize the fox, his mind again curious about the nature of Mana. He had re-read the scroll, after the Hokage had given him permission to keep it. According to the scroll, Mana were creatures of magic and nature, helped alchemists and what not… he hadn't read much about the details, but…

_**You really ought to study, moron. You are now an alchemist… partnered with the great Mana of Chaos. I won't have you dragging my name down the mud! **_

The blonde snorted. He was sure the name of Kyuubi had been dragged, buried, spat on by the mud of too many people here. Their hatred of him was living proof.

_**Like I care about ignorant people. I do care though when you meet a fellow alchemist or worse, fellow manas that they'd at least think my partner, forced upon my will, but still my partner, doesn't know the noble history of Mana. I'd be a laughing stock!**_

Naruto just rolled his eyes. Mana and their pride. 

_**Listen well brat. Born through the ancients, we mana are the source of magic and the source of elements for science. We are the ones who have come forth to humans, giving our knowledge freely that subsequently gave birth to alchemy. And because of human greed that we mana have to…**_

The Kyuubi trailed off, growling. Naruto could hear the mana shuffle inside him, almost angry at his last outburst that the blonde didn't even push it. He just sighed, and went towards the rooftops, and began to jump back home to take a shower.

Back at his new home, Naruto dashed straight to the bathroom, stripped his clothes, and began to clean himself anew. The Ninguard soap had a very neutral smell, yet it also boasted anti-bacterial properties to a near one-hundred percent. It was good against pimples, dirt, and smell. It wasn't long before the tile floor was flowing with brown water, but hey, it left his skin squeaky clean!

Of course, his proud porcupine golden spikes were smothered with Kunshuriken shampoo and conditioner, and after a long nice hot shower, Naruto felt good once more. Wiping himself off with his new towel, he grabbed his spare clothes, although forgoing the jacket as he wanted to cool off.

_**One of these days, moron, you need better clothes that suit your standing. **_

Naruto sighed. Again with the orange lecture. Old man Hokage and Iruka would never shut their mouth about it… but now, the Kyuubi as well?

_**It's not about the color brat. I need you to look dignified. You can wear pink for all I care, as long as it looks good on you. And don't go speaking to me in third-person again, brat. **_

_Yeah, yeah, whatever… _Naruto thought. He looked towards the atelier for a moment, wondering what his future would hold. _Ne… Kyuubi… what will happen next? I mean… what will happen to me now that I'm an alchemist and all? _

_**You asking me brat? I'm a mana, not some seer. Stupid human. **_

_What is it with you and your hatred for humans? _Naruto asked. 

_**Stemming from history since the ancients… if you knew how far human greed can go when it concerns power, you'd understand. I doubt it though… a moron like you would never understand. There was only one human being worth of respect, and that human's dead, long gone. **_

_Fine… _Naruto growled, and dropped the subject for a moment.

And then, suddenly, an idea popped on his head.

_Hey Kyuubi… if you hate humans that much, wanna help me embarrass the hell out of one completely? _

_**Prank, eh? Who and how? **_

_Uchiha Sasuke. And how… well… _

Naruto could feel the fox grinning slightly as he laid out his plans. It wasn't long before the mana agreed, and Naruto, after finally moving all of his stuff from the apartment back to his new place began use the pots for the first time to synthesize something that would make his planned prank the greatest ever.

Of course… he had to get his stuff out of his old apartment first. Wasn't hard… his plants, and two boxes. One filled with his cup ramen, and the other his clothes. When that was done… he went on his way to play his prank…

Sasuke wouldn't dare show his face when he was through with him.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke sighed as he preformed another taijutsu kata perfectly, and finished with shuriken and kunai, and hidden in between the throws was a very thin metallic wire he had been manipulating. By the time his practice ended, he finished off with a slight pull, completely cutting the head of the training dummy he had been practicing on.

He suddenly looked up. He caught a present for just a second, but it was gone quickly. Relaxing, Sasuke retreated back to his house, and closed the door, locking it. He went for the windows, and closed them as well. Sighing, he removed his shirt, grabbed a few towels, and then removed the bandages he had placed on his upper chest area.

Unknown to him, behind the couch, Naruto was hidden, his grin widening. On his hand was a disposable camera he had bought after finally moving all his stuff from the apartment to his new house, ready to be used. All he had to do was just wait until the time was right.

Uchiha Sasuke sighed, removed his shorts and underwear, and crinkled his neck, and combed his hair slightly down with his hand. He went to the bathroom, and was about to open the tap of warm water to fill the tub when he noticed a very odd looking sphere near the tub.

Without warning, it blew up in a shrilling boom along with a blinding light.

Retreating, Sasuke raised his arms, dropping the towel he had been holding, and tried to feel his way outside. Who was attacking him!? His arms flailed around, trying to see if he'd anyone, and just growled, angry.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" he shouted.

His senses were coming back. His hearing first… and the first thing he heard was a clicking sound.

* * *

"Holy… crap…" Naruto muttered, his fingers absently clicking on the camera.

_**Holy shit…**_

The prank went perfectly. While the bastard was training, Naruto would sneak in with a newly synthesized flash bang to the bathroom. Waiting behind the couch, Naruto would wait until the bomb would ignite, and he would come out and take pictures of Sasuke, who, most likely, be naked.

Everything went according to plan. Even the timing of the bomb was perfect. Uchiha Sasuke did come out naked. But… that was the end of their perfect plan. Now, Naruto was looking at the naked Uchiha in complete shock.

Naruto's and Kyuubi's reactions came from the fact that Uchiha Sasuke was actually… a girl.

The blonde's blue eyes stared at Sasuke's petite breasts, her lean form as she punched the air, and her buttocks as she twisted her waist, an effort to put all her weight behind her punch. Slowly, she turned towards Naruto's direction, her ears perking up, and slowly, the blindness fading from her eyes.

_**You should be running… **_

_Yeah… _Naruto replied, not moving from his spot.

_**Stop staring at her breasts, and get the HELL OUT OF HERE! **_

Sasuke's eyes blinked, everything becoming clear, and the first thing she saw was Naruto, staring at her with wide eyes, a camera in his hand, and his finger unconsciously tapping on the picture trigger.

A small breeze of wind had Sasuke remembering she was naked. Her cheeks went red with embarrassment. Her arms covered her vital exposed areas, bending slightly.

Her movements were not lost to Naruto, who saw everything happening in slow motion. His fingers still kept tapping the camera button, and his eyes focusing on the blushing cheeks, her pose as she hid her 'stuff' as Naruto would say it, and her facial expressions.

She was… cute.

Cute left the building though when her embarrassment suddenly turned to frightful justified female anger. It didn't help that Naruto just kept taking picture after picture, unmoving, grinning slightly like a complete moron as Kyuubi had said, and the worst part was the slight blood coming out of the blonde's nose.

"You… you PERVERT!" she cried out, her hands going together, forming seals. "Katon!!" and she took a deep breathe… "Gōkakyu no Jutsu!!"

Naruto's little perverted smile vanished, and his eyes widened as a big ball of fire just traveled to his direction.

Everyone outside jumped up as suddenly as the house where the great Uchiha Sasuke had exploded. No one noticed a figure running out, his orange pants on fire, as they were more concerned with the person inside of it…

The last Uchiha surveyed her surroundings. Everything had been blackened by the blast, and she took a mild concussion, her body now covered with some soot. Her eyes went towards the floor, where the camera Naruto had been carrying to take pictures of her.

The blonde had dropped it.

The found-out-to-be-female Uchiha's eyes went murderous. She picked it up, and with her bare hands, crushed the flimsy carton housing of the disposable camera. She was going to kill Uzumaki Naruto!

* * *

"Holy crap… holy crap… holy crap…!" Naruto panted, running like the hell hounds were after him. He had dashed towards the alley, and took random lefts and rights, hoping to hell the Uchiha wouldn't follow him.

That was one damn powerful attack! If it had hit him directly, Naruto knew he'd been shish-kebob! Barbecued! Spinning around a spitfire! Baked!

Plus… Uchiha Sasuke was a she! What the hell? Was it true? Maybe it was some illusion, like that genjiji that the old man was talking about!

_**Genjutsu. **_

_Huh? It was a genjiji? _

_**GENJUTSU! Damn it, brat, keep your head straight! And… no. That was no genjutsu. The last of that cursed Uchiha clan came out to be missing the Y. **_

_The 'why'? What's that? _

_**Read on genetics or reproduction brat… it just means she's… a total she. **_

_Oh gods… this can't be true… this can't be true… this can't be true…_

Naruto kept repeating those thoughts in his head, struggling to get his bearings. For a moment, he felt Kyuubi's presence vanish from his mind, and then, a familiar wind blew slightly all over his body. The feeling was warm, and calming. The blonde could only breathe out the breathe he had unconsciously kept and relaxed.

"I… I need to go home…" Naruto whispered almost inaudibly. "I need to sleep…"

The wind guided him home.

* * *

The Third Hokage smiled, the paperwork was all done. Even better, from what the ANBU could report, Naruto had finally finished moving to his new home just a few hours ago. The old man dismissed the ANBU and told them to take a break.

It had been a productive day. A talk with Iruka in the morning, some paper stamping, some healthy break (slipping out of the office undetected for a few hours), more paper stamping, and lunch… he was even able to visit the academy, though only the young ones were left there. Konohomaru was still a headache, but… at least he tried.

The old man was about to take his well deserved break. It was already very late… and he had been delayed in finishing his paper work when the last surviving Uchiha's house apparently blew up, and her reason was she had a training accident.

The Third chuckled inwardly, wondering how long the young Uchiha was going to pretend to be male.

Yawning, the old man was about to go home when the ANBU came in a hurry, kneeling in front of their leader.

"Hokage-sama!"

"What is it?" the Hokage asked, sounding somewhat annoyed.

"Naruto's old apartment… sir… its on fire!"

Hokage's eyes widened. "Who set it on fire!?"

"We don't know, Hokage-sama!"

* * *

Just a few paces away from the building, the young Uchiha looked at the burning apartment with a small satisfied grin. There was no way that Naruto would have survived that… a group of exploding tag with created a very powerful explosion, and an almost unquenchable fire from within.

Too bad she couldn't see Naruto's face as she had to be very careful, and just threw the exploding tags through the open window in the kitchen. She wanted to see his shocked face as the explosion take him out… or maybe his desperate face as he would asphyxiate…

She swallowed the urge to laugh like a mad woman, not by choice but because brooding Sasuke Uchiha doesn't laugh. He only grunts.

Plus… the laugh could give her away… it was rather high pitched.

So, imagine her surprise, when after two days of trying to kill the blonde pervert, she would find him again in the academy, before the team arrangements were called, sleeping peacefully on top of a desk.

Very much alive as the day she had planned to burn him to dust, he was sleeping away in his new home.

And so another the story continues, as Iruka and the rest of the class would wonder why their normally stoic Uchiha Sasuke was now sporting a fake and forced grin, and a large (very large) twitch on his forehead as he too his seat beside the blonde Uzumaki with only a singular thought repeating all through her head…

_I'm going to kill you… you blonde pervert. _

* * *

_Author's Notes: _

_Well, I hopefully added some more history to this universe… and prolly shook a few readers with this one. Prolly lost a few ones as well. :P Sasuke as a girl… lol. Someone's gonna ask for my head… lmao! Anyways, hope you enjoy this one as well. _

_Later. _


	3. Chapter 3

_**Again! Shuffle! **_

Naruto growled as he followed the instructions, shuffling his Fate Cards on his hand by pinching the top and bottom parts of his cards and releasing them, making them flutter towards his other hand.

_**Too slow! Now throw the cards towards the tree and concentrate! **_

The blonde boy growled, but didn't stop as he threw the all except one card towards a random three, concentrating on keeping the deck whole before the impact.

_**Make them spread and stick to the tree now! **_

Naruto obliged, and focused on the cards exploding outwards as they hit the tree, and with a soft groan, he made them reform. Instead of returning as a deck, they stuck themselves towards the tree.

_**Much better. I need you to be faster next time though! Everyday! Do these exercises everyday, until you can do them unconsciously! **_

_Kyuubi! Come on… you're going to kill me! _

_**Oh I wish brat… I frigging wish I could! **_

Naruto sighed as he collapsed, looking at the card he had left on his hand, and at the deck that was struck in the tree… in his mind, he could feel himself hugging that tree, holding it with pseudo fingers. On his thought, the cards let go of the tree, and began to reform back on his hand to a deck.

Whatever had gotten Kyuubi fired on his ass, Naruto wanted to stop, at least for a moment. He already had a busy day this morning, his thoughts somewhat heavy towards the implication of the last Uchiha being female.

Kyuubi never bothered him on his thoughts, only telling him it was time to train him on the use of his Fate Cards. Naruto couldn't… he couldn't concentrate until some squirt, the Hokage's grandson, came and asked him to train him to beat the old man.

The blonde, thankful of a distraction, began to teach the kid the finer points of his Sexy no Jutsu, and was generally having fun until the closet pervert instructor of Konohomaru came in and basically told him, in his face, that he was no good.

_Hah… showed him with my Harem no Jutsu. _

_**After you have rested, you will begin your attack kata once more as a cool down, go home, take a shower… and synthesize more healing potions. **_

_WHAT!? Oh come on you nine-tailed bastard…! _

_**If you have time to complain, you have time to synthesize! Now… DO IT! **_

Naruto grumbled, as he began to whip his card around, doing the forms Kyuubi had instructed him to do. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke, now taking character of the broody stoic bastard… and male, most definitely male, mentally smiled as the memory of two days ago was her waking dream that morning.

The image of a burning apartment washed over her again. Maybe it was her affinity to fire that made her happy, or the fact that she had fully avenged her wounded female pride of taking out a perverted boy (Naruto was totally perverted… she had seen him using that piece of garbage he called Sexy no Jutsu), or the fact she was able to keep other people from finding out that she was totally female. Maybe it was all three combined even, but whatever it was, it made her really, really… really happy.

Then she saw him. Uzumaki Naruto. Alive, well, and sleeping in the desk of the classroom. She was taken aback, jumping back in shock, almost screaming, but stopped herself when she remembered where she was.

All her classmates were looking at her oddly. Even Iruka, who was surveying everyone in the classroom looked at her with mild surprise. She just forced a smile, a large tick appearing on her forehead, and sat beside the sleeping blonde, her hand twitching to dive towards her kunai, her thoughts scrambling in her brain...

_What the hell is he doing here!? Why is he alive!? How dare he show himself around here!? _

And the most dominant thought in the blender she had called her mind:

_I'm going to kill you… you blonde pervert! _

So much dark thoughts in her mind, she hadn't spotted two of her fangirls nearing… Haruno Sakura, which she didn't know until later that she'd be her teammate along with a certain blonde alchemist, and Yamanaka Ino, who other than Hyuuga Hinata, had the best body for a twelve year old.

* * *

Back at the Hokage tower, prospect jounin-senseis grouped around the Hokage's crystal ball, all looking at the children that have gathered in the classroom. Some chuckled as they watched the Yamanaka girl and the Haruno girl arguing on who would sit beside Uchiha Sasuke.

"Wonder how they'd react when they realize the true nature of Uchiha Sasuke?" Sarutobi Asuma muttered, chewing slightly on the filter of his cigarette, smiling. "Disappointed?"

"Hmph, how would you react if you found out the crush you've been lusting over was actually male?" Yuhi Kurenai teased. Asuma never replied.

"I'm pretty sure Asuma would check if the one he had been lusting was female over a quick peek over the hot springs…" Kakashi replied drawly, causing Asuma to cough, and Kurenai to turn red, in anger on embarrassment, no one present tried to inquire.

"So… that's him?" another jounin pointed, towards the sleeping blonde.

"Uzumaki Naruto… yes," the Hokage replied. "Any thoughts about him?"

"Well… his school record's a bit… harsh," Kurenai stated, frowning. "He's more of a physical type than a thinking one. Is he really an alchemist?"

"Well… he doesn't look bright, that's for sure…" Asuma replied, watching as the Haruno girl began to wake the blonde up.

* * *

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted, slamming her palm towards the desk. "Wake up!"

Groggily, the blonde genin looked up, and turned red when he saw his crush looking at him with her passionate eyes… passionate in a way. He hadn't known the fire in her passion was fueled by the desire to kick Naruto out to sit beside her crush.

"Yes, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, happy. "What can I do for you?"

"Get out of the way so I can sit beside Sasuke!" Sakura growled.

"No! I will!" Ino complained.

"Like I'll let you, Ino-pig!"

"Try and beat me, Forehead girl!"

The argument was totally lost to Naruto. The moment Sakura stated her desire to sit beside Sasuke, his eyes turned towards his side, and realized, that yes, he was sitting beside her. The girl who had thrown him a fireball… a girl who, just until two days ago, was a boy.

The blonde's mind went to a state of disbelief. He looked beside him, and saw Sasuke looking at him with narrowed eyes, face unmoved and icy.

The young Uchiha… was definitely a boy, right? Looking at the raven-haired genin, Sasuke was definitely a boy! The hair's a bit long, but standing on the back end, giving him that boyish charms, even if the face was, as Kyuubi had said, girly, and the chest! The chest was flat! It was flat!

To prove his point, Naruto's hand went towards Sasuke's chest.

* * *

Back at the Hokage's office, the jounins winced as Uchiha Sasuke suddenly lunged towards the blonde, and began to pound her right fist towards the Naruto's face multiple times, her face darkening, her killing intent leaking out that almost everyone who was inexperienced with it shuddered and stepped back.

Naruto was only saved when Iruka had decided to hold back Sasuke before she actually killed the blonde.

"Wow… I don't know whether to call him brave or stupid," Asuma whistled.

"I think confused would be the term," Kurenai replied. "I mean… he doesn't know… does he?"

"I'd call him very brave if he did know, which I doubt," Kakashi giggled, and opened his orange book to read. "It's gonna be fun to see them together in a team… that is, if they pass."

Kurenai looked at Kakashi darkly. "Don't start playing matchmaker, Hatake."

"Of course not… don't wanna take your job," Kakashi replied easily, ignoring the young jounin's reaction. He just giggled as he read another passage.

* * *

"Now… Team 6…" Iruka looked back towards Naruto, who looked like he had taken a gang of thieves and came out of the confrontation without any luck. Beside him was Haruno Sakura, who was happy to sit beside Sasuke (Naruto was glad not to be beside the scary girl who had beaten him to bloody pulp), and the raven-haired genin looked highly annoyed at being stopped from delivering her divine retribution.

"Team 7… Haruno Sakura," Iruka called. "Uzumaki Naruto."

_YES! _Naruto thought, raising his arms.

_NO! _Sakura thought, her head down. She was stuck with the blonde irritant!?

"And Uchiha Sasuke."

_YES! _Sakura raised her arms, in victory. _LOVE WINS!_

_NO! _Naruto was taken aback. He was teamed up with a psycho girl!?

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, her lips forming a small, yet very evil smile. Oh yes… divine retribution is coming… she chuckled. Of course, as she was playing her character, it came out as a snort.

"And that covers all the teams," the chuunin declared, smiling. "Now, everyone wait until your jounin-sensei will come to pick you up, and remember now that you are genin, you-"

"Iruka-sensei! Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted, cutting off the man as he was about to give a speech of the importance of their life as a ninja for Konoha.

Iruka growled. "What is it, Naruto?"

"Change my team! Put me anywhere else!" _Away from the psycho girl, at least,_ Naruto thought in desperation.

"Naruto… the teams were designed in a way that it'd be balanced. Sasuke is the top of the class. You, on the other hand… were dead last."

Everyone laughed, began jeering towards Naruto, calling the blonde dead last. Instead of anger, the blonde looked torn instead, ignoring everyone teasing him. He boldly looked towards his teammates, Sakura, still out of it, hearing she was with her crush, while Sasuke looked at him with a small smile.

"They got the dead part right, at least…" she smirked. Naruto, as slow as he was, got the hint, evident at the fact that a few moments later as he disappeared as Iruka called for a break. He claimed he had stomach troubles.

Uchiha Sasuke didn't buy it, and would chase after him claiming she needed some pocky.

Iruka, for a moment, wondered why Uchiha Sasuke just gave such a cockamamie reason to rush out.

* * *

_Holy crap... holy crap… holy crap… _Naruto thought as he felt a spike of killing intent aimed at him. He knew who was behind him, so he ran faster, turning towards the corner in the corridor, and jumped out an open window.

For a fleeting moment, the wind returned to his face, comforting, reassuring. The blonde smiled, and spread his arms as he was in the air, relishing the feel of the wind before he readied his body and landed cleanly on the ground, and began to run.

Just a few seconds later, Uchiha Sasuke had landed almost at the same spot where Naruto had, and slowly tried to feel the surroundings. She felt five presences, so she concentrated on the one moving away, and locked unto that.

Then… her hunt began.

Rushing past a few trees, she stealthily crept ahead, trying to lock on her moving target. It was hard… she tried to predict the course he'd take, going ahead to cut him off only for him to take a different route.

This pattern repeated itself over and over. The young Uchiha sighed, as she found herself getting angrier as she was forced to keep the chase. It wasn't long before she found herself with her other teammate, Haruno Sakura, who upon spotting her, waved her hand and called her in.

"Sasuke-kun!" the pink-haired genin called, making the raven-haired genin groan.

_Oh for the love of… _Sasuke put on her stoic, brooding face, and faced the girl. Maybe she could make this confrontation short and as painless as possible.

"Yes, Haruno-san?" the Uchiha asked.

"Um… I was wondering… since we were on the same team…" Sakura began to mumble, looking down. "I wonder if… we… uh… could go… to a… um…"

"Have you seen Naruto?" Sasuke asked, cutting the girl off before she could say the 'D' word.

"Naruto?" Sakura suddenly seemed to be put off. "Why would you want to see him? I mean, all he does it bother you. I bet it's because he doesn't have parents…" she nodded, feeling somewhat proud of herself.

Sasuke's face only darkened, her eyes narrowing towards the pink-haired girl, her anger rising.

"He acts so free, doing whatever he wants… if I did that, my parents would ground me a month. He's lucky, all alone, he's got no one to tell him what to do, or what not to do, and that's why he always makes trouble."

"All alone…" Sasuke whispered.

"Huh?"

"The feeling of a parent yelling at you is nowhere near the pain he feels," the raven-haired genin spoke softly, yet sharply, making Sakura confused.

"Wha… what's wrong…"

"You're annoying," Sasuke stated clearly and coldly, making the other girl flinch. Without another word, she left her there, continuing her search for the blonde haired pervert.

* * *

"Nyahahaha!" Naruto chuckled, exiting the bathroom. What a genius he was! For a moment then, he was so nervous trying to escape the psycho girl, who he knew was following him, but the wind guided him towards the safe spots until the girl seemed to give up the chase.

He then spent the remainder of his time hidden in the only place where any girl would not enter… the boy's bathroom.

Of course, he also failed to remember that Uchiha Sasuke was at the top of her class for a reason… and she too came to the same conclusion, which was the reason why the first face that Naruto got to see the moment he had opened the door of the bathroom to exit was… hers.

"GYAH!" Naruto shouted and immediately shut the door, and dove back inside… only to be followed in by the person he was hiding from. "HEY! Get out of here! This bathroom's for guys! Gi-"

A shuriken lodged itself to the tile wall, very near Naruto's left cheek. The sudden intrusion of a sharp object near his person got the blonde to quiet down, if not turn to a rather unhealthy shade of blue.

"Listen here, you blonde pervert," Sasuke growled, putting as much killing intent as she could in a small space. Naruto's attention was on her.

"I'm… I'm not…!"

"Ho? And I suppose taking pictures of my naked body is not a sign of perverseness?" the Uchiha asked.

"No! It was supposed to be… you know… a prank. Was gonna spread the photos around… YIK!" Naruto gasped as another shuriken came at him, lodging between his groin, too close for comfort. It would have hit if he hadn't dodged the last second.

"Spread it around…?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "You are just asking for a beating, aren't you?"

"I'm sorry!" the blonde pushed himself further back to the wall, hoping it'd swallow him up. The girl… she was too scary!

"People think I'm a guy," Sasuke growled, cracking her knuckles. "I'd like to keep it that way… but it seems I have been found out. By a big mouthed moron, no less. What to do, what to do?"

"I'll keep quiet! I swear!" Naruto smiled, assuring, though his back was now breaking a cold sweat. He knew how girls reacted when they were angry… he had felt Sakura's punches for a good while, but because of the power of love (one-sided love), he would endure it. However, a beating from the psycho girl?

He'd die for sure!

"Make sure you do…" she smirked. "If not… I'll kill you."

Naruto could only swallow.

* * *

A few hours later, back in the classroom, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto were still waiting for their jounin sensei to come.

Sakura looked a bit torn, if not uncomfortable around Sasuke, but she still chose to sit beside him, and fawn over him with her eyes. He was the cutest boy she had ever laid her eyes on!

Uchiha Sasuke looked at the pink-haired genin, taken aback a bit when her eyes were heart-shaped. That fangirl was taking the crush thing a bit too far, wasn't she? On the other hand… Sasuke looked towards her other teammate, Naruto, who was sitting comfortably away from her.

She smirked, patting herself mentally. She may have gone a bit too far, but that was alright with her.

Naruto sweated somewhat… was it him, or could he feel her eyes on his back. He shivered… this was no good! He had escaped certain death, yes, but now, he knew, she'd always look at him… and if he as much did something to offend her…

"**Make sure you do… if not… I'll kill you." **

"Damnit… the sensei's late!" Naruto declared, standing up, and began to move around impatiently.

_Damn it, come here soon! Don't leave me alone with the psycho!!! _was his current train of thought, though.

The blonde still felt her stare, so he did anything he could do to calm himself down… and that was planning a prank. It wasn't hard… the teacher was late, leaving him alone in a room with a crazy monster (for the first time in his life, he had ignored Sakura's presence), and the classroom had enough material for him to make it one of the greatest pranks ever!

However, he decided to start small. Grabbing an eraser, he lodged it on top of the sliding door, lodging it between the frame and edge of the door, so whenever it would open, the eraser would fall on top of the head of the person who'd enter.

"Hey… what are you doing, Naruto!?" Sakura shouted, watching the blonde do his work.

"He'll deserve it for being late!" Naruto grinned.

"Don't involve me, then!" Sakura growled, looking away. Inside though… she loved the idea.

Sasuke only snorted. Like a jounin would fall for that…

A hand appeared in the edge of the door, drawing breathe of everyone in the room. They watched with fascination, wondering if Naruto's little prank succeed… Sasuke had doubted it though, knowing how well skilled jounins are, though the other two members of Team 7 were hoping it would succeed.

The eraser fell on silver hair scattering white chalk particles to his hair. The rather dumbfounded look on the jounin's face got Naruto to laugh hard at his prank.

"Nyahahaha! You fell for it? Seriously!?" Naruto declared, holding his sides.

"Sorry, sensei, I tried to stop Naruto," Sakura looked apologetic, though inside, she was celebrating.

Uchiha Sasuke looked put off. First, she had a pervert and an idiotic fangirl for teammates, and now, she had a very incompetent jounin who couldn't even dodge a falling eraser. Oh yeah… her ninja career is starting out all right, she thought sarcastically.

"Hmm…" their jounin-sensei, Kakashi, was looking at them, his eyes smiling. "My first impression of you guys… well… I don't like you."

Team 7 looked taken aback for different reasons. Naruto and Sakura wondered if the prank had gone too far, and Sasuke just realized she found someone more arrogant than her character.

"Meet me in the roof," Kakashi declared, before taking a step back, and closed the door, leaving the three genin to stare.

* * *

"Alright," Kakashi clasped his hands together, leaning back at the metal short fence on the roof, looking at his would-be students, his eyes still smiling. "Let's introduce ourselves."

"Um… how?" Sakura asked.

"Well… the normal stuff. Likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, that kind of stuff," Kakashi explained.

"Why dontcha introduce yourself first then?" Naruto asked.

"Me, eh?" the jounin had a pondering look. "Well… I'm Hataka Kakashi. I have no reason to tell you my likes or dislikes. Dreams for the future… hmm… well… I do have a lot of hobbies…"

The three mentally groaned. Seems they only got his name.

"You first, blondie!" Kakashi pointed towards Naruto.

"Alright! I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto smirked, looking proud. "I like ramen! More so if Iruka-sensei pays for it, hehehe… I hate waiting three minutes for the cup ramen to be cooked… and overbearing self-righteous bastards!"

Kyuubi inside growled, but didn't state a reply.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Was Naruto talking about her?

"My dream… is to be Hokage, and have the people acknowledge my existence! And… well… continue my mom's legacy as well."

Sakura looked up at that. Naruto knew his mother? That was rather new… but then again, he never did talk much about his past. He always had that stupid smile plastered on his face.

Sasuke looked surprised as well, sharing the same reason with Sakura.

Kakashi though looked thoughtful. The Hokage had told him about Naruto's skills in alchemy.

"My hobbies are, well… pranks, I guess… but I'm also getting the hang of training, and I want to learn to synthesize more stuff!"

_Synthesize? Making more stuff? _the Uchiha though, wondering. She never really saw Naruto as a maker of anything, except pranks.

"Alright… you next," Kakashi pointed towards Sasuke. She mentally sighed, and put on her front…

"My name's Uchiha Sasuke," she drawled. "I have many things I dislike, and I really don't like anything. As for my dream… well… I call it an ambition. I want to rebuild my clan… and kill a certain man."

_I knew it… _Kakashi thought.

_She's talking about me, isn't she? _Naruto shivered, moving a few more spaces away.

"And the girl," the jounin stated, after Sasuke stopped speaking.

"My name is Haruno Sakura… what I like is… I mean, the person I like is…" she giggled, looking towards the raven-haired genin.

Sasuke mentally groaned. Kakashi just rolled his eyes.

"And I plan to marry… I mean… oh yeah…!!!" she paused, and began to gather her thoughts. "Oh… and I hate Ino-pig!"

_I know girls at her age think more of love than living as a ninja, but this is a bit extreme… _Kakashi sighed, and looked towards his would-be students brightly.

"Good for introductions," the jounin nodded, sitting on the small fence. "Now… tomorrow, we're going to start our new duties."

"Alright! What kind?" Naruto enthusiastically asked.

"First… something between the four of us," Kakashi declared. He looked over the genin who were anxiously awaiting his next words.

The jounin-sensei began to smirk. They were going to love this…

"Survival training."

* * *

"Well… don't be late tomorrow… and don't eat breakfast," the jounin looked at the three young genin seriously, "or you'll throw up."

Kakashi giggled, seeing the rather sick look on all the young faces as he left. Naruto was more affected, his face stuck in a state of shock (his mouth was wide open, and his face was white as snow). Maybe it hit him harder than the two because he was a last minute graduate. Maybe the shock of failing had hit him harder than most.

Sakura was born from civilian parents, though she did have blood of shinobi in her veins (great grandfather and grandmother, with two cousins, twice removed) and she was pretty smart which would boost her confidence.

Uchiha Sasuke though, while shaken, was very confident… and if Kakashi could say, a bit too overconfident about her skills. She probably translated his threat as a challenge, and for that girl… any challenge would be worth partaking as long as she could get what she needed.

Naruto never noticed the three leaving him alone in the academy rooftops, still shocked as one surprise came one after another.

He's mother was a great alchemist (he had a mother!)

He had a great mana sealed inside him… and that mana is Kyuubi.

He found out that the bastard he had been fighting for Sakura's heart was in fact a crazy psycho girl!

And now… he had to pass a test the jounin just sprang with them, and if he failed… he'd find himself in the academy again!

_Maybe the gods hate me… _Naruto thought depressingly.

The wind blew on his face… warm and calming. The blonde genin smiled, feeling more comforted as the breeze danced on his body. For a moment, he thought of flying to the air again, just to recall the feeling, only for the wind to die when he heard an all too familiar voice ringing on his head…

_**The wind mana is calling you… **_

Naruto blinked. _Wind mana? _

_**Yes, moron. When you feel the wind coming at you, seemingly trying to talk to you, or let you experience emotions that you wouldn't have been feeling, it means a mana is trying to communicate with you. **_

_Oh… so… why? _

_**Why what? **_

_Why is it talking to me? _

_**You're the only alchemist around! Of course nearby mana would want to talk to you, why wouldn't they!? A mana, most of the time, would love to team up with an alchemist because instead of trying to govern the nature of their area, which doesn't need governing anyway, they could in fact help a human with an alchemy. They'll be able to enjoy bragging rights in saying their human partner had made a great medicine, or the sharpest sword, or even turned lead to gold… **_

_Oh… _Naruto pondered. _Is… is that your goal, too Kyuubi? Have a human to be proud of? _

Kyuubi snorted.

_**I already had a human that I am very proud off… and now I'm stuck with an embarrassment like you. **_

_I know you love me, _Naruto grinned.

_**Shut it, moron. **_

The blonde made Kyuubi simmer for a bit, enjoying the small taste of victory in their last exchange, though the acknowledgement of the wind mana has started to bother him. For as long as he remembered, the wind had always been his friend, always comforting him during trying times, and would whisper escape routes… either when he was escaping people chasing him after big pranks like defacing the Hokage mountain, or escaping psycho girls with killing intent.

_What would the wind mana want with me? _

_**Maybe make a contract with you… who knows. **_

_I already have a contract… with you. _

_**Hmph. Sweet, but moronic. Alchemists can have an unlimited amount of manas helping them, as long as the mana who want to make a pact with them will agree. Its generally thought that alchemists can have as much as ten manas on their call, but the more mana an alchemist has made a pact with, the harder it is to convince other manas to join. **_

_Why's that? _

_**We're selfish when it comes to alchemists. By we, I mean other mana. I'm the special one. We'd share as long as it proves beneficial, but really, how many mana does a human need anyway?**_

_Alright… _Naruto sighed. _What now? _

_**Do you want to have a contract with the wind mana? **_

_Sure, why not? The more the merrier, eh? _

Kyuubi paused for a moment, growling. Naruto wondered for a moment what was going on the mind of the self-proclaimed Mana of Chaos before he heard Kyuubi speak…

_**Go home. Lets practice your synthesis! **_

_What? Aren't we going to look for this wind mana?_

_**Go home, train on synthesis first, then I'll help you find your wind mana. I have new recipes for you to try. **_

Naruto looked sullen, but perked up immediately when he heard he was moving to new synthesis… making more healing potions was kinda boring after a while.

* * *

Well, Naruto was happy; Kyuubi had finally done it and taught him the subtle art of bomb making. Oh, sure, he had made a flash bang two days ago, but truthfully, all it took was a simple envelope, shredded aluminum, some small explosives (basically, made from store bought products), and BAM! Flash bang.

Real bombs, though, were a bit harder. Too much calculations when it comes to the ratios of ingredients, timing of cooking the mixture, and even how much energy Kyuubi had to provide… if anything went wrong, there would be a small explosion that would cover his blonde face with soot, or electrocute him, or the worst, freeze his face off (and then explode).

There were three basic bombs… a fire bomb, which according to Kyuubi, made a moderately sized and decently powered fireball, which was made from fire-powered rocks, some powder (Naruto used the only powder available, flour) which would enhance the effects of the rocks, and finally, a nicro cloth that would hold the two materials together.

It was the basic recipe for bomb synthesis, according to a scroll that Kyuubi had pointed out, different from the large scroll that the Hokage had given him (the one he stole). While the large scroll had the recipe, the self-proclaimed Mana of Chaos stated that if Naruto wanted to be really good at it, he had to read a scroll about it.

Thankfully, it was far from boring. 'Scroll on Bombs' by John Urn, which was a beginner's guide to bomb making, with the foreword stating that 'even three-year olds can make', and had cute pictures and simple explanation.

The recipes for other elemental bombs were basically the same. For Ice Bombs, Naruto had to use ice glaciers (Kyuubi just told him to use ice cubes to save time. Thankfully, the mana's energy used to synthesize kept the whole thing frigid), and for Thunder element bombs, they used thunder powered rocks (and oddly, it came out looking like a rod instead of a bomb).

After five tries, Kyuubi seemed to give his approval.

_**Good. Now, practice to make at least ten bombs a day, along with ten healing potions, unless you're out of the village during missions. **_

_What!? _Naruto mentally screamed.

_**Shut it! I do not want my alchemist to be out of practice! Think of it as training… and if you are diligent enough, I'll let you synthesize more complex things. One day, we might even move towards armored clothing and weapons! **_

Naruto calmed down, feeling slightly better. Settling his new products on the work table, he looked himself in the mirror and sighed as his dirty visage stared back at him. He was going to go and hit the showers, when Kyuubi spoke again.

_**Take the bombs with you… and follow my instructions. **_

Naruto was surprised. _Are you going to teach me a new recipe? _

_**No… we're going to visit the Wind Mana near the area. **_

The blonde's eyebrows went up in surprise, but didn't complain. Putting the bombs he had made in his pockets, and his jacket's inner pockets, Naruto followed Kyuubi's instructions as they began to search for the Mana of the Wind.

Civilians looked nervous as the blonde seemed to sneak away in the street, like a thief one of them called. Not wanting to cause trouble, the blonde just jumped towards the rooftops, and made his way towards the Mana of the Wind… or was supposed to.

Unfortunately, Kyuubi got lost at least two times, complaining oddly about him losing the feeling where the Mana was. Naruto suspected the fox mana was embarrassed that he was getting it wrong, and called on it after Kyuubi had told him to switch directions after the fifteenth time.

_The great Mana of Chaos, Kyuubi the nine tailed fox… is lost. _

_**Shut it brat. I'm not lost… the Wind Mana is just being difficult. **_

_Likely story… _

_**If you think you can do better… go ahead. I'll laugh at your failure, you big-headed moron! **_

Before he even knew it, Naruto felt Kyuubi's presence vanish. Wow… for a moment… the great Kyuubi sounded like some nine year old girl… he fumed like one too! All it needed was the sound of the door slamming and a high pitched 'I hate you!' and it would complete the image.

Snickering, Naruto for a moment looked around him. He was now at the top of Hokage mountain, on top of the Fourth's head. He looked down, enjoying the view of the well lit village… the streets were almost empty, with only a few ninjas on duty, and a few ANBU patrolling present. The horizon was dark, but the night sky was well lit with stars and a quarter moon shining down on him.

He felt an odd sensation, looking at the moon, which drew his eyes on it, until the wind suddenly picked up, cold, making him shudder. Sitting down, Naruto sighed, and wondered what he was going to do next… maybe go home and finally take that shower. He could sure use a good one. With Kyuubi not talking to him, he had no chance in finding out where the Wind Mana was…

Oh well… maybe tomorrow…

The wind blew on his face, alerting him suddenly. He could hear… a voice! Female… it was calling for him!

Standing up, he jumped away, following the wind…

* * *

_Author's Notes: _

_Well, thank you for the reviews people. Some had nice suggestions, but, I guess its time to tell you how the story will flow. I will not say this is a Sasuke (btw, that's not her real name) and Naruto fic… I also not saying it isn't. At this stage, our hero's far too young to even think about it. But he's getting there (reaction seen at chapter two). _

_I'd like to think Sasuke is choice A. I'll be introducing Naruto to the ladies more because of various reasons. I'm pretty sure it won't be a Naruto Sakura fic because… well, I don't like her too much. _

_I will also add another game to the mix… guess what it is next chapter (it'll be obvious, *wink wink*)._

_Oh, and sorry for those who wanted a kiss between Sasuke and Naruto… I thought what I wrote was something funnier. :P _

_Later. _


	4. Chapter 4

In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage had looked over all the papers he had just finished stamping, and concluded that he was at least fifteen percent faster than yesterday… but then again, there was less paperwork to be filed today. He thought he would have been able to get some very decent sleep now, but when he felt the presence of ANBU officers coming in, he sighed, hopes dashed.

"Hokage-sama!" one of the ANBU officers called.

"Yes, what is it this time?" the old man asked.

"Uzumaki Naruto has exited the village!"

"WHAT!?" the Hokage stood up from his position. "Was he attacked?"

"No sir!"

"Maltreated?"

"No sir!"

"He has no reason to leave then…" the Hokage looked thoughtful. "Any assumptions on his destination?"

"Judging from his bearings, I would assume he's going towards Corridor of the Wind."

The old man blinked, and sighed as he sat back down. He was going there, eh?

"Take a unit of ANBU and order them to tail Uzumaki," the Hokage stated. "But no contact. Tell them to only interfere when he tries to leave fire territory, or if he is serious, and I do mean serious, trouble."

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

They left without another word, leaving the Hokage to smile somewhat. Kushina had told him that the Fire Country had a very abundant collection of items that she'd use in alchemy. The Hokage assumed that the boy was going there to collect items, and would gladly allow him to, but still, if Naruto had went to travel to the Corridor of the Wind, he was taking a rather big step into his alchemist life.

"Good luck… Naruto," the old man stated towards the air, hoping his prayer for the blonde's safe return would reach the gods.

* * *

Naruto stopped, the wind who had whispered him the directions have stopped. Instead, what was left was pure raw wind, coming from a cave with a large opening.

The whole area felt weird. There was a sort of static energy that gave him the shake. It wasn't only because of the cutting cold wind, but also because for some reason, this was the first place he had felt that was… how could he describe it?

Out of this world. Yeah… that statement was right.

_**It's rich in magical energy… or mana, as some would call it. **_

_You mean… there's a Mana here? And it's rich with it?_

_**Yes and no. There is definitely a Mana here… but its rich in magical energy. I'll just say magical energy, because the terms get confusing if you don't have the technical knowledge of this stuff. **_

_Oh… _

Then it hit him.

_Are you calling me stupid!? _

_**No. I'm calling you a moron. **_

Naruto growled. _Oh shut it! I found the Mana didn't I? When you went on how sorry you felt, complaining like a ten-year-old girl, telling me I wouldn't do better, I did it! The great Uzumaki Naruto, ninja extraordinaire… _

_**And whipped by some Uchiha chick. **_

_Hey! That's different! She's a psycho! _

_**Hah. Besides... get your facts straight. You didn't find the Wind Mana yet. **_

_Well… the voice did stop speaking… _

_**Yes… something's been bothering me for a while. It is odd for a Mana who would call an alchemist to be silent when that alchemist is so close to them… maybe this place is rich with magical energy with wind elements. It could be interference… or maybe she's testing you. **_

_Testing? _

_**I can feel monsters inside the cave. **_

Naruto blinked. Did he hear right? Monsters? He chuckled, somewhat… and then turned around and was about to walk away when Kyuubi's voice rang on his head.

_**Don't chicken out, you brat! You're an alchemist! Show some dignity! **_

_I'd rather be alive…! _

_**And I'd rather have both of us die than have someone find out that my partner alchemist ran away from low level monsters! **_

_Low… level…? _

_**Meaning weak. Mizuki-weak.**_

_Oh… _Naruto paused. _That weak… eh? _

_**Yes… Mizuki-weak. It might be different, but to me, the levels seem to coincide. **_

Naruto snorted. Mizuki-weak… he laughed, somewhat, looking back at the entrance of the cave, and forced himself in, ignoring the cutting wind pushing him away.

He was going to use that term more often.

* * *

Somewhere in the dark recess of Konoha's ANBU prison… the lethargic Mizuki sneezed.

* * *

The place was, for the lack of better world, foreign. Outside it had looked like a simple normal cavern, never minding the fact that it was also rich in magical energies and had wind blowing off from the entrance, yet inside… inside was very different.

Crystals of green-ish tint dominated the surroundings, glowing and fading in rapid intervals, like a pulse, giving the image of life in such a dead place. No vegetation was present, nor were insects one would normally associate in such deep dwellings, but Naruto, not very knowledgeable, book-smart, nor experienced would even understand the full implication of such a place.

For him, it was as normal as a walk in the park.

_**What a deplorable place. Crystals. How boring can one Mana get? **_

_Hmph, what's your hiding place? Filled with rotten meat and a clogged toilet, full? _

_**Don't be cheeky, moron. Foxes have no need for toilets. **_

_That's just frigging gross. _

The area was too narrow. Kyuubi reminded the blonde alchemist that his style of exploding towards his enemies won't work like last time… even if they were Mizuki-weak.

_**A little finesse is all that is needed. Thankfully… your Fate Card deck is the perfect weapon to use in this scenario. Practice your Attack Forms, and when they are coming to attack, switch to Defense Forms. **_

The two forms that Kyuubi had taught him two days ago were still burning in his mind, and his calf and arm muscles. His forms were, as Kyuubi stated, rough, and much unpolished, but still a good enough start with weaker monsters and enemies.

It wasn't that long until Naruto had a reason to practice them again.

"What in the hell…" Naruto stopped a moment, looking towards the creature in front of him. "It's… cute!"

_**Good gods… it's like seeing that ditz Philomel again… **_

_Who? _

_**Long story, from a long ass time ago. Anyway, that's not cute… that's… **_

And before Naruto could react, the cute creature he had been staring at suddenly sprang to him, hitting its head (or was it body) to the blonde's got, making him retreat in surprise.

… _**that's a Puni. Water based monster… very weak, though it attracts victims by luring them into false sense of security, and head butt them to death. **_

Naruto groaned. _You could have warned me… _

_**If you reacted fast enough, you could have went to the basic Defense Form, and countered, but nooo… Its sooo cute, you said. Moron. **_

_Bastard… _

Naruto, now more ready than earlier, readied his deck of cards, watching the monster bounce towards him. It was a simple formed life form… imagine a spherical gel with eyes and mouth, and there you go. It was like this world's own version of slime… and like those monsters, this one was pretty weak.

All it took was five clean hits.

Naruto was on his attack form as more and more Puni came in, in different sizes, launching an attack at him from the front. Moving roughly at his forms, but adequately enough to start his combat in motion, the Fate Cards lashed out of the blonde's hands like whips, hitting any monster he concentrated on.

If any came close enough, his defensive form would be take care of it. In that form, he would let the cards reform in a rather tight group, forming a wall of cards in the air to either block the attacks completely or soften the impact. The limited amount of cards he had only allowed him to defend one small area at a time, but considering the Puni had to launch themselves at him to attack, he could predict their movement, and move swiftly.

Of course, Kyuubi would help as well, his voice warning him of any changes that would occur, or if there's a particular Puni that was coming close to his defensive sight, telling the boy to block, or launch a quick counter before the enemy's attack hit home. His form held on, much to Kyuubi's surprise, and was delighted as Naruto kept on killing each Puni at ease.

The problem was… there were too many of them. So many that the normally oblivious Naruto had to take a momentary pause, and looked forward, only to see multiple blobs of Puni jumping at him in rhythm.

_Um… Mizuki-weak times that many is not that weak anymore… _

_**You're right brat. If you continue fighting like this… you'll just be head butted to death. **_

_So… we run now, yes? _

_**Don't be stupid. Get a Fire bomb… and throw it at them. **_

Naruto followed Kyuubi's orders without question, though he promised himself he'd run if the numbers prove far too great. He just graduated, damnit! No way he'd die fighting some blobs of slime!

Throwing his bomb as hard as he could, he expected some sort of moderately sized explosion, some fire here and there… but what happened was something unexpected. The explosion rocked the cavern so badly that just a few seconds, Naruto had to duck the incoming flame that was being pushed away, towards his direction.

The result was something rather spectacular. Naruto, on the ground, his jacket burning, and one of his golden strands of hair was aflame. He ignored it. Groaning as he stood, he looked behind him, and saw everything obliterated… the Puni were gone, leaving colored gel-like stones where they had stood.

"What… the… hell…?" the blonde alchemist asked, his left hand going towards his hair, pinching out the strand that was still on fire, snuffing it out.

Was that supposed to be a basic flame bomb!? It was more powerful than an exploding tag!

_**Don't be silly. The bomb was basic, but considering the situation, this cavern already rich in magical energy, plus the wind spreading and fanning the flame with more power… I guess one thing built to another. You got lucky… you only had four fire bombs left… **_

_Um… yeah, but I still got five ice and five lightning bombs… _

_**True, but Fire is Puni's weakness. The other bombs wouldn't even have affected them much… you'd only have been wasting them. Just be glad one bomb took all of them out. **_

_Oh… _

Well, that was good to know, Naruto nodded. For a moment there, he'd thought he would have continued on and battle those slimy gits…

"Wait a damn minute…" Naruto whispered.

_**Hooo… you seemed to have caught on… **_

_If all it took was fire, why didn't you say so!? I spent like five minutes twirling myself around with cards trying to hit and defend against their attacks when you could have just told me they were weak to fire and I'd have thrown the bomb to save us from a load of trouble! _

_**I wanted to see if your form was solid enough to be used in combat. It's been only two days, but I'm already impressed at what you can do with your cards… but still. You need to train everyday. **_

_Hmph… even when we're recruiting friends, you're at it with training. _

_**You really don't understand why I'm worried, do you? **_

_Of course I understand! Because deep down inside… you care about me!_

Kyuubi growled and went silent once more. Naruto grinned, knowing he had earned another small victory, and instead of trying to provoke the sealed Mana more, he looked at the colored stones on the ground.

Basic skill of alchemy, as Kyuubi had once told him, was gathering materials, whether known or unknown, because any raw material could be used to synthesize something new, or make an existing item more effective or powerful. Any time he trained, Kyuubi would always tell him to gather a few materials first… that's how he was able to get enough Spinacherb and elemental-powered stones to synthesize healing potions and bombs.

Now, this new material… it seemingly had the properties of the Puni, though definitely not alive, quite smaller, and much more varied in color. He took just a few, not having a bag to take all of them but he promised himself that after the whole thing was done, he'd go back here, and train against monsters and gather materials.

The cave then, suddenly became boring. Nothing came after him at all, prompting Naruto to wonder if he had in-avertedly killed every last Puni on the cave. Of course, he hadn't. The surviving Puni had went to hiding, and soon, legends will be told upon all Puni-kind that a new Puni-slayer had come to their midst. How he had an item so powerful it killed hundreds of their warriors in one fell swoop…

Of course, it didn't make Naruto special. Puni were so damn puny, that anytime they meet another species, they'd declare a new Puni-slayer. For the count, there has been, in recorded history of the Puni, one million, one hundred thousand, five hundred and fifty four Puni slayers.

Half of those slayers are still alive, either in person, or passed through blood by their sons or daughters.

More walking, and Naruto found himself wondering how long he'd have to walk… its been a while already, and with nothing attacking him, the whole trip suddenly turned boring. He also missed the bastard's voice… and he rarely missed him. Kyuubi was a great teacher, and an even better tactical support, but anytime they tried to have small talk, they end up with an insult, and a series of one-ups following thereafter.

It ends with either Kyuubi going all-silent, or Naruto thinking ways to kill his Mana partner.

Then… he heard her voice again. Calling for him. And it was close too!

Picking up the pace, Naruto fought on the biting wind, moving where the direction of the voice was calling. Running ahead, he could feel the place vibrate, becoming brighter with every second… whatever it was at the end of the tunnel, he was sure it would be a beautiful spectacle…

And it was.

"Welcome…"

He had arrived… the end of the long tunnel. Waiting for him there was a woman, who's silver hair flowed around her, the silver dress she wore made her look magnificent, while her long skirt was adorned with multicolored design of feathers. She looked at him with a smile.

The whole area was quite large, a very good change for Naruto as he had traveled into an almost cramped corridor, with the wind flowing everywhere, gentle and non-invasive, unlike the biting wind he had to deal with as he moved his way here… yet everything was, as it was in the tunnel; crystal-like.

"I am Gwendolyn Silverlance, the Wind Mana," she declared, bowing slightly. "I have been expecting you… Uzumaki alchemist. Would you please honor me with your name?"

Naruto looked somewhat dumbstruck. The woman was very, very beautiful, graceful, like a princess. Her voice… yes, the voice was definitely the one he had heard mixed with the wind, calling him here. Even her speech pattern was very formal… he couldn't help but be awestruck by her presence.

_**She's waiting… introduce yourself already, you moron. **_

Naruto snapped back, Kyuubi's voice bringing him out of his blank state. He took a small bow, nervous, as he had never done anything like this before, and introduced himself.

"Um… I'm Uzumaki Naruto… um…" the blonde's brain began to scramble for more words. "Its… an… um… honor to meet… you?"

The unsure-ness of the last bit of introduction got the Wind Mana to giggle.

"Please… speak normally," she stated. "I have known you your whole life, though it is the first time we meet, and I would like for both of us to get into the same page here. However… I must hurry, before it comes before me again…"

"What will…?" Naruto asked, noticing her face going from serene to hurried.

"A terrible curse I burden… what every Mana now burdens," she spoke softly. "Time has changed for us, Mana… we dwindle in numbers, the balance of things tipping away. Humans have given into greed, and unknowingly, suffering for it."

_**Something's wrong brat… **_

Naruto acknowledged Kyuubi's words, but continued to listen to the Wind Mana.

"As one of the few surviving alchemists, I request of you…"

Then, it quickly came. Naruto stepped back as the Wind Mana, Gwendolyn, was suddenly covered in a cyclone of black energy, encasing her whole… her voice, suddenly strong, went weak, replaced by a dark growl, somewhat similar to Kyuubi's dark growl…

"Please… free me from my torment…the Corruption that ebbs in my being… the hatred, the darkness, the wanton lust to destruction… please… Uzumaki Naruto… Free me!"

Naruto could only step back as the dark energy began to dissipate, revealing Gwendolyn, now losing the regal, proper aura she had been displaying. Gone was her beautiful silver dress, replaced by armor clad battle-suit, her long skirt turning to a thigh high battle-skirt, with her legs covered by high leather shoes, which had bits of metal placed on the feet, shin and knees… the multicolored feathers-like design was present, and when they moved, Naruto realized why they closely resembled feathers. As it spread, Naruto knew that the skirt design were actually a pair of wings, situated on her hips.

The long silver hair was gone, tied into a very tight bun, giving Gwendolyn that boy-ish haircut, and on her hand… a silver spear. Her whole body was encased in a dark black flame, and her eyes, normally a dark shade of blue, went completely black were staring at him.

She then spoke… her voice, now completely devolved into a hateful growl.

"**Human… leave.**"

_Kyuubi… _Naruto paused for a moment. _What the hell is going on? _

_**The Corruption had spread this far… surprising. This is further proof of human greed and the harm it does to the world. **_

_Kyuubi… _Naruto began to back away as the Mana cloaked in dark flames hovered near him. _Now's not the time to discuss human flaws, moral weakness, and the social consequences humankind will bring forth to the world if it keeps on its path. _

The fox paused for a moment, and the blonde could feel him grinning.

_**You know… I'm somewhat flabbergasted by how many big words you just used. **_

_Uh… thanks? _

_**It wasn't a compliment. **_

This wasn't something Naruto wanted. The blonde wanted an explanation to what was going on, not some tired tirade in the middle of a potential battle.

"**Human… LEAVE!**"

_Kyuubi… _Naruto growled…

_**Fine. It seems this Gwendolyn is suffering from the Corruption, and because of that, she drifts into a calm, normal state which you saw her in earlier, and at times, transforms into something unstable and dark, which you are seeing right now. I'll explain later, but right now… its time to honor her wishes. Its time for you to free her… **_

_How? _

_**For now… just kick her ass. **_

Naruto readied himself, on his right hand, his cards coming out. He had his battle suit, the red fiery cape, with Kyuubi's eye on his right backhand, out.

"**Leave!**"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto…" the blonde declared, his left hand pointing towards the corrupted Mana. "And I'm here to kick your scrawny little female feathered ass!"

_**Leave it to a moron to lay on the insults. **_

The blonde didn't knows whether the insults hit, but the fact that the Mana suddenly charged at him, her wings in her hips spread with the spear directed at him, he thought that it probably did. Dodging the charge, Naruto extended his right arm, trying to counter-attack his opponent's charge, and his cards spreading, and impacted the Mana like a whip, strong enough to push her aside.

She only growled. She swiped the air, and dark winds, shaped like little cyclones came at him.

Spreading his cards on the air, Naruto grabbed the cyclone cards before they would reach his card, and poured energy into them. The wind turned into white before disappearing, something the blonde noticed Kyuubi was looking into more than normal. Before he could ask what was on the fox Mana's mind, however, the Wind Mana charged in again.

Gathering his cards once more, Naruto went on his forms again, using his cards to block and attack at the same time… Kyuubi had called this Defensive Form, Water, which was a rather advanced form of defensive katas that Naruto hadn't fully mastered yet.

Instead of the basic Defensive Form Stance, which involved in spreading cards to a blanket which would block an area of attack. The more cards put in, the more area it covered. It was the same defensive moves that he had used fighting the Puni, but there was some serious disadvantage using that form…

Gwendolyn was quick… very quick. Her spear attacks came in fast and powerful, one stab after another, each attack coming from a different angle. If Naruto had used the basic defensive form, he'd either be stuck trying to block a typhoon of attacks, or be severely gouged and stabbed by her impressive weapon.

Instead, he kept the cards into the whip form, using its length and along with his body movements, he'd block every stab, instead of head on, on the spear's sides instead, deflecting the direction of the attack, and if possible, parry, trap, or counter-attack immediately afterwards.

Of course, not having mastered the form, Naruto was too slow in actually blocking any attack. The only thing that got him to keep up was Kyuubi whispering to him where the attack would come from, and boy was he damn accurate about it.

_**Lower left, angled slightly to stab your left lung… **_

Naruto grunted, taking a step back, and turned around, his cards following him, and using the momentum he built using centrifugal force, he was able to launch his first counter-attack aimed right behind her head, which she nimbly blocked with her left arm, armored with an arm brace.

She swiped the air again, and launched a black tornado towards the blonde, who barely dodged it… but the ripping winds were close enough to tear a few fabrics off his jacket. If he was hit by one of those directly, he could die…

_Damnit… I need more help! _

Taking a few steps back, Naruto spread his cards in the air, and grabbed his card, and the other blank cards present and used Jade Shift, transforming those blank cards to copies of his own cards, placed them back in the row, and recalled the cards to his hand.

The air shifted, and suddenly, multiple copies of Naruto were present, surrounding Gwendolyn.

"ATTACK!" Naruto shouted, ordering the clones to charge in.

_**Wait you brat! Don't…! **_

The clones charged in, Kyuubi's warning forgotten, and the Corrupted Wind Mana grinned as the clones approached her from all directions, and a large powerful wind surrounding Gwendolyn came out of nowhere, hitting the clones as they charged in.

Naruto screamed suddenly, along with his clones when they hit the cutting winds. The clones were thrown back, while at Naruto's body, cuts were forming, and his orange clothes began to turn red with blood, the pain still present in his mind.

_What the hell happened…? _Naruto wondered, still in a daze.

_**You stupid moron! Who the hell charges towards a dangerous enemy like that!? With clones, no less! **_

_I… I don't understand… _Naruto shook his head. His vision cleared somewhat, and he now spotted Gwendolyn charging over a clone of his, which dodged the attack.

_**Haven't you realized it? The moment you knew your clone's memories during the search for materials to make a Healing Potion when your teacher needed it, I would have thought you knew your clones are linked with you, directly. What they see, you can see, what they feel, you'll feel… **_

Naruto moaned as he grabbed his chest with his left hand, feeling the blood flow freely. Automatically, he grabbed a healing potion from his pockets, and drank it; his wounds closed up, and he felt better.

_Hey… stupid fox… if my clone dies… do I die? _

_**Fortunately, you may be linked to your clone but it is not completely you. If a clone dies… you'll feel the deathblow… but you won't completely die. But brat… you will wish you have died. It's that painful. **_

_Any advice then? _

_**Yes. I've been thinking for a while… remember when you erased her wind attack coming at you earlier? Somehow, putting forth energy to the card seemed to purify the attack before erasing it… so, I thought… **_

Naruto caught on Kyuubi's gambit quickly.

_Are you suggesting that we use the same technique on her!? _

The clones were doing their damned best to try to hit the dark Gwendolyn, dodging wind attacks and spear stabs. So far, the injuries they received were relatively minor, having learned not to try and attack head on again.

_**Yes… let your clones do the work. Spread your cards, brat… its time for you to become a commanding support fighter. **_

Naruto nodded, and did as he was told. Spreading his cards, he found himself staring at a line filled with Naruto clones, a card of himself and a card of Gwendolyn, who was surrounded by a black aura.

_**You made a mess. Clean up! Remove twenty of your clones… free up some space. We do not need man-power for this type of battle… your enemy is a wind type Mana, who's specialty is area attacks with winds. The more clones you have, the higher chance of getting hit, and getting you hurt. **_

The blonde nodded, and grabbed twenty clone cards and dismissed them, turning those cards back to blank, and put them back in the line. Twenty clones shimmered to nothingness, while the others continued to attack, their own cards snapping towards the enemy like a whip… however, their attacks wouldn't go through, as they would either be blocked by the spear, or redirected by black winds.

Kyuubi's plan was to purify the Gwendolyn by pushing energy into her card, but since she was locked in combat, she kept moving, making her card move erratically towards the left and right in an unpredictable pattern. Naruto couldn't get ahold of her card.

"**Die!**"

The corrupted wind Mana sent another series of wind cyclones towards three clones. Naruto wanted to grab those projectiles and erase them, but they moved too fast in different directions that he couldn't keep up.

_**Fool, move your clones instead. Take them out of the point of impact…**_

Naruto blinked. The clones were definitely easier to procure and they stopped moving, seemingly knowing that what the real Naruto had been planning. Quickly grabbing the three clones in the way of the cyclones, he then moved them towards the only place he felt safe… around his own card.

Three clones disappeared, the cyclones hitting nothing but air and went on their merry way until they hit a cavern wall, and around the real Naruto, three clones appeared, grinning appreciatively. There were ten more clones fighting the Mana, but they seemed to be getting tired, dodging, blocking and attacking.

Gwendolyn was too skilled to take on directly. How were they supposed to stop her on her tracks?

"You know… we can always just lunge in and grab her," one of the clones near Naruto suggested.

"Right… then maybe… no, probably, we can get shredded to pieces by that wind shield she uses!" another clone near Naruto replied.

"Wish we had an extra limb that we can extend and not have it feel pain…" the third clone sighed, dejectedly.

Naruto, and the other two looked at the third clone like he grew a second head. In turn, that clone, noticing the looks he was given, looked at them.

"What?" he asked.

"It's Shuffle Time!" Naruto shouted, and all the clones immediately nodded. The three that were around him jumped back into the fray, and began to position themselves around Gwendolyn.

_**Shuffle Time… that's what you call that attack I just taught you? **_

_Shut it bastard fox! The only thing I remember from that attack is you moaning I shuffle faster… so, yeah… Shuffle Time! _

_**Ancients… please strike down this buffoon. He's an embarrassment! **_

_Oh shut it, and work with me here! _

Naruto's clones surrounded the corrupted Mana, and began to shuffle the cards from their hands, and in perfect synchrony too. At the same time, they threw their decks towards the corrupted Mana. Like when all the Naruto clones charged into her, a dark cyclone emerged from her body… the deck of cards hit the black cutting wind, scattering the cards in the air.

"**Useless…**" the corrupted Mana declared as the black wind died down, thinking she had rendered the attack useless.

"NOW!" Naruto shouted, and all the clones nodded.

Gwendolyn's eyes widened as the cards that had scattered on the air suddenly lunged at her, attaching themselves to her body, completely covering her person. She had tried to throw a threat, but the cards covered her mouth as well. The only thing that came out was a guttural growl.

Held steadfast by the clones, the corrupted Wind Mana looked steady, but by the twitching body of hers and the reaction of the clones, she was struggling to free herself.

"Um… yo… whatever you're gonna do, do it fast! She's kicking like a damn bronco!" one of the clones declared, his teeth gritting. The real Naruto nodded, grabbed the Gwendolyn-card, and began to pour his energy on it.

There was a guttural scream as the card-wrapped wind Mana began to twitch harder, her dark aura flitting, moved like a flame being blown away by a strong wind. Naruto growled as he felt the card he had been holding become heavy, and almost slippery, as if wanting to escape from his palm.

_You sure about this, you bastard!? _Naruto asked Kyuubi.

_**Sure… see? Her dark aura's slowly disappearing! Just like the corrupted wind you had purified earlier. **_

_Wait… wait… wait a damn minute! Didn't the wind die? Didn't I revert the card back to a blank state? Didn't I just… you know… kill the wind? Are you saying we might be killing her!? _

There was a slight pause.

_**Uh… well… now that you mention it that sounds about right as well… **_

Naruto's mind paused as well.

_Oh gods… we're killing her! We're killing her! We have to stop… _

_**Oh pipe down. I doubt she'd even die. She's a skilled and powerful Wind Mana. There's no way she'd die in the hands of a moron. **_

_And if she does!? _

_**Well… there are other wind Manas around… **_

_You bastard! You Mana-killing bastard!!! _

Outside their lovely conversation, the dark aura emanating around Gwendolyn was slowly being snuffed out. Naruto, cutting his conversation with the self-proclaimed Mana of Chaos, looked steadily as he continued to pour more and more energy to the card… so much that he was beginning to feel faint with the exertion.

The clones looked rather pale as well, though still held on. One of them began to chant 'A little more' over and over, just to keep the morale up.

"Damnit… How… Much… Longer!?" one of the clones finally shouted.

There was no answer as finally, Gwendolyn's dark aura disappeared, replaced with a sudden bright explosion that shone through the cards. With the cavern covered in semi-reflective crystal, everyone moaned as suddenly, everything exploded into white.

* * *

"Uzumaki… Naruto…"

Naruto blinked… the whole world was white. He was kneeling on the ground, which was also white, and he looked up… the sky was white as well.

"It needs a dab of orange…" Naruto muttered, still quite out of it, not really knowing what he was talking about.

There was a slight giggle… and colors started to come back again. Naruto blinked again, his eyes adjusting somewhat as his vision began to recover, and the first thing he spotted was Gwendolyn, in front of him. She still had her battle armor, and her spear resting on her right arm, while her eyes boring on his.

"Shit!" Naruto stepped back, went to a fighting position. The Wind Mana smiled, and raised her hand, motioning the blonde to relax.

"Uzumaki Naruto…" she spoke softly, her smile still present, "… you have done me a great service. You are a worthy alchemist indeed…"

She paused, and she twirled her spear, making Naruto jump back again, nervously. He was about to get into fighting position again when he realized that the dark aura around her was gone and she spoke clearly and without malice.

He relaxed.

Gwendolyn smiled as she stopped twirling her weapon, her outstretched arm stopping in front of her chest, the silver spear horizontally aligned with her hand. To the blonde's surprise, the weapon slowly shortened, until the spear changed to another weapon, one which Naruto had never seen before.

The blade was part of the spear spear, but now it was connected to a short metallic shaft, ending with a curved grooved handle at the end. The Wind Mana raised the weapon, and looked at it, and spoke:

"I, the Wind Mana, Gwendolyn Silverlance, shall make a pact with the alchemist, Uzumaki Naruto. I pledge my powers, my weapon, and my services to him," she paused and looked towards the boy. She smiled. "Do you accept?"

"Yeah…" Naruto replied quickly.

"Take my weapon… it's a sign of our pact. May the winds guide you to your path to greatness… Alchemist Uzumaki."

The blonde nodded, and took hold of the weapon she had been holding, and at the touch, he felt the winds suddenly move on to him, surrounding him. Suddenly, on top of his orange jumpsuit, armored pieces appeared on his leg areas, covering his feet, shin and thigh areas. His forearms were also covered in metallic armor, and on his chest, a chest-piece shaped like a wing of a bird, reaching all the way to his shoulder blades. In his forehead, forehead protector he had been wearing transformed, the cloth parts turning to metal as well.

Although covered in armor, Naruto felt lighter than he ever had in years. The weapon he held also seemed weightless, almost as if he wasn't holding anything at all. Taking a few swipes in the air, he was surprised when he put forth a bit of energy in his attacks, a small cyclone would come forth. Then, he put energy on the weapon itself, and it expanded before his very eyes.

He smirked, and began to play around with his new weapon when Kyuubi suddenly spoke up.

_**Enjoying yourself? **_

_Whatshawhomawha!? _

_**Even I don't know what you just said… **_

_Stop scaring me like that then, you bastard! _Naruto growled. _You gave me a heart attack! _

_**Hmph. Well, congratulations brat. You have made a pact with a new Mana… yey!**_

The last word came out so sarcastic that Naruto had to wince at how badly it sounded.

_**Wind element is fast, sharp, and quite deadly on certain applications, but lacks total overall offensive power compared to the other elements. Its defensive power though, as you experienced, is quite powerful. I'd explain more, but I'd hate to steal Gwendolyn's role as your teacher. **_

_Oh… like how you taught me how to use my Fate Cards and all? _Naruto nodded in understanding. _Where is she anyways? I would have thought it would be her voice I'd hear, not yours. _

_**Hmph. Astute, but Gwendolyn's doing a little recovery. The whole battle had tired her, plus our little purification bit drained a lot of her energy. She also just came out of the Corruption, and survived it. She deserves the rest. **_

_What is this Corruption? You told me you were going to explain it after the battle… I think now's a good time. _

Kyuubi sighed. Naruto felt, for some reason, this would a long if not complex explanation.

_**When the Ancients created us Mana, and we Mana foolishly approached humans, a relationship was formed, and Alchemy was born. **_

_Oh gods… I think I heard this lecture already… _

_**Shut it brat. I have to go this far back to explain the Corruption. During the Golden Age, a few thousand years ago, and yes, brat, I was alive then. **_

Naruto snickered. _Kyuubi-jiji. _

_**Shut it. Anyway, during that time, when Alchemy was booming, they decided that the younger generation would be taught in an Academy concentrated on teaching the knowledge of alchemy. **_

_That sounds like fun… _

_**Hmph. It may sound like fun, but it was the beginning of the fall. The academy, Al-Revis, in my opinion, should have never been formed. **_

Naruto blinked.

_Why not?_

_**Alchemy has been, always, an art that was shared between an alchemist and their Mana. The art would have been passed down from the older generation to the younger generation. The Academy brought all knowledge of every Alchemic processes and recipes together to be taught towards children who showed potential to be Alchemists, no matter what family they'd come from. **_

_Isn't that a good thing? _

_**Hmph… I guess in your view, it would be a good thing. Less discrimination for one, and it could potentially give birth to new lines and families of alchemists, but… the academy was built by humans, and run by humans. **_

_**It wasn't long before some humans, armed with alchemic knowledge began to experiment on Mana. The Academy, built on a floating platform, was supported by different sealed Manas. **_

_**Theofratus Aurelius, a gifted alchemist, also a student of the academy, due to his depression, creates an artificial Mana that allowed it to grant wishes. The Mana went out of control, and thankfully, due to a few young students of the Academy, prevented a disaster. **_

_**Another student, after Aurelius, is Iris Blanchimont. She was another gifted alchemist… able to synthesize elements without the use of Mana. She had been partly responsible for the fall of Avenberry, a great city for Alchemists, and something else, which I won't get into now. **_

_**Needless to say, these two examples were just a few reasons of the fall of Mana. Experimented on, used, the numbers of Mana, as many as they were before the Fall, dwindled into nothingness, either sealed into machinations which are still alive to this day, or inter-bred with humans for power. **_

_**Surviving Mana went to hiding, though some would discover, slowly, that something was amiss. We Mana are elementals by nature, and are quite dependent on each other. Fire tempers water, water cools fire. Without fire, the water runs eternally, flooding everything in its path. Without water, fire will burn everything in its path, destroying even itself. **_

_**Do you understand what I'm trying to say here, brat? **_

Naruto nodded somewhat. Kyuubi had impressed to him the first time they met that as an alchemist, he would have to uphold the balance of the elements. He hadn't understood at the time, but now, he could relate.

_You're saying because of dwindling Mana around the world, which was caused by humans… or more specifically, alchemists, and that caused the Corruption? _

_**Exactly. Humans have forgotten their pacts with Mana, and began to treat them like tools, servants. We were partners, and they have forgotten that important fact. Corruption is nothing more than a Mana's power going wild. We were lucky we were able to purge Gwendolyn from the Corruption… if not… I fear her body would have ripped itself apart. **_

Naruto looked at the weapon he had been working with solemnly. He twirled it around his hand again, and watched it with slight fascination as he willed the spear to shorten once more, and he twirled it around his body.

_Will she be okay now? _Naruto asked.

_**That will depend on you, brat. **_

The blonde nodded, and his thoughts went to his mother. He held his breathe.

_Was she… I mean, did you know if my mother was… _

Kyuubi seemed to smile, knowing what the blonde genin wanted to ask.

_**You're mother was a model alchemist. She was neither greedy nor curious enough to try and experiment on Mana. She respected her partner, and treated that Mana like family. **_

Naruto smiled, exhaling the breathe he had been holding in relief. He had berated himself for even thinking badly about his mother. The story of the alchemist and Mana had bothered him somewhat, and he began to understand slowly why Kyuubi acted like the way he did.

Human greed eh? Naruto looked at the weapon he had been holding. He could understand that… he was, just a few weeks ago, contemplating on getting new ninjtusu after ninjutsu, having powerful weapons, and getting powerful titles, like Hokage under his belt.

Sure, it was brought forth out of necessity, a want and need for attention, but still, he felt the hunger for power. Was it wrong, to want more power? He remembered the day he was asking anyone for power, as Mizuki-teme was about to kill Iruka-sensei, and it was granted to him by Kyuubi, and for a good moment, with those thoughts in his head, he realized something…

He wanted power to protect his precious people… his friends. Iruka, the old man Hokage, Sakura-chan, that old man Ichiraku and his daughter, Ayame.

He didn't want power because he wanted power.

_**Hmph. You're still young, and more importantly… you're just human. One of these days… you may fall to that trap. **_

_Never, _Naruto growled. He decided…

As long as he lived, he would advance on his studies on alchemy and get stronger to protect his friends. Using that philosophy, he would make his own way of the ninja… he'd uphold the balance of the elements, find, free, or purify whatever Mana he would come across with, and…

And…

Naruto looked somewhat dumbfounded. His mind was already going to the octave, prosing like a hero of an epic tale… only for it to crash down as the words left him blank, not knowing what else to say.

Shrugging, Naruto made his way out of the cave. He'd think more about it later.

* * *

_Author's Notes: _

_A more serious chapter. Like promised, I added another game to the mix, and if you don't recognize it, then shame on you! Go to your video game stores, and buy the beautiful 2D game for the PS2. :P_

_Later. _


	5. Chapter 5

"Naruto…" a voice called.

Uzumaki Naruto shifted on his bed, mumbling something inaudible.

"Naruto…" the voice called again, forcing him to slowly come back to the real world.

"No… ramen… come back…" he mumbled, his hands moving as if chasing something, his mouth agape, drool slowly coming out.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

A slight touch got Naruto to sit up, his eyes still drooping. His mind had been asleep, was now half awake. He had remembered he had been chasing the rare ramen of the Miso Valley, heated by the Fires of the Big Stove, and seasoned with the Black Pepper of Powder, and now, the dream slowly faded, the only thing left was the site of the beautiful Mana, Gwendolyn, who had been coaching him awake.

"Wha… whu…" he mumbled, sleepily. He tried to raise his arms to yawn, only to retract them back, feeling sore. "Ow!"

"Good morning, Naruto-sama…" Gwendolyn greeted, smiling.

"Ugh…" Naruto moaned, going for his tummy. Not only did his body ache, but his stomach felt rather empty. This wasn't exactly a good way to start his day. At least Gwendolyn was there, chipper than the bluebird in the morn…

Gwendolyn!

Naruto faced the Wind Mana, who looked at him curiously. His face suddenly shone, as he grabbed her hands, smiled happily.

"You're okay!" he stated, excited. He frowned somewhat, remembering the events last night. "Kyuubi said you'd be okay, but I'm kinda glad the bastard didn't lie!"

_**Hmph… like I'd lie to a moron like you. I bet I could make you commit something very… chaotic and evil… if I do it right. You're gullible like that. **_

_Shut it, Kyuubi-jiji! _

Gwendolyn smiled back and said, "Of course I'd be fine, Naruto-sama. Going through the Corruption was tiring, but you have cleansed me. I feel happier than I ever had been in my whole existence."

"What's with the –sama bit?" Naruto frowned. "I won't have that! Just call me Naruto!"

"I owe you my life."

"What are friends for?" the blonde shrugged.

"You are my alchemist partner… and such-"

"Yes… partner," Naruto nodded, cutting Gwendolyn off. "That means we're like… equals or something. Though… seriously, you kicked my ass yesterday. If anything, I should be looking up to you."

The Wind Mana looked at the boy with a strange expression, before a smile cracked in her face. She giggled somewhat, covering her mouth with her hand.

"What?" Naruto asked stupidly.

"You… Naruto," she replied, smiling. "Your heart… is pure. I have chosen well. The last Uzumaki Alchemist is a decent man… young as he may be."

Her hand suddenly went towards his forehead, making the boy blush suddenly.

"Don't change that heart…" she whispered, before she walked away.

Naruto swallowed, hard, watching the woman walk away. For the first time, he noticed that Gwendolyn had let her hair down again, though instead of an immaculate dress she wore, she was wearing simple, yet decent house-dress. He scratched the back part of his head, his cheeks somewhat blushing.

Wow… that felt good, he sighed.

_**Hmph… decent man. More like perverted, staring at her ass like that. **_

_I was not!! _

_**Denial is not just a river in a big sandy country. **_

_Wha…? _

_**Bad joke. Sorry. **_

Naruto shook his head, and yawned again. He felt his limbs, and groaned. It seemed that last night's battle had taken a toll on his body. He could feel his arms tired, the memory of fighting and then, in the end, hold the mad and corrupted Wind Mana in her place, while he purified her.

He had wondered if a healing potion would help him with the pain, when Kyuubi just snorted.

_**A healing potion heals wounds, not take out pain because of muscle fatigue. **_

_Damn it… _Naruto groaned as he stood up from his bed. _Maybe I ought to synthesize one… _

_**Hmph… you could make it your first original synthesis. Your mother couldn't really find one as well, plus by the time she had made her whole alchemic recipe scroll, she had a body of a fully trained ninja. She rarely suffered muscle fatigue. **_

_Yeah… my mom's awesome! _Naruto thought happily… before reeling in realizing what Kyuubi had just told him.

Fully trained ninja. Hadn't Kakashi said that they would have survival training today… and they were supposed to meet at…

Naruto looked at his clock. It was going to be eleven o'clock.

Gwendolyn suddenly jumped as her alchemic partner suddenly dashed towards the closet and began to rummage around his clothes, moaning.

"Damn it! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!" the blonde muttered, putting on his black shirt, orange pants, and orange jacket. He also grabbed a few alchemic items he thought he could use, and put on his forehead protector.

"Naruto… what's the hurry?" Gwendolyn called.

"I have to meet my team! I'm seriously late!" Naruto replied, zipping up his jacket.

"Won't it be lunch soon?"

"No time!" Naruto rushed towards the door.

"Then let me accompany you," the Wind Mana declared. Before the blonde genin could say anything, she glowed in green-ish light, and slowly, shrinking to a smaller size.

When the light faded, Naruto raised an eyebrow as he saw Gwendolyn, about one-eight of her normal size, in full battle gear, sans her spear, and she floated towards him, settling on his shoulder.

"Cool trick…" the blonde declared.

"In this form, I'll be hidden from plain human sight, though some sensitive beings would be able to sense something amiss…" the Wind Mana explained. "As per the terms of our pact, I have pledged my services to you. I shall follow you to the ends of the earth."

Naruto smiled nodded, thankful for the help. He had just remembered the details of today's training… it was a do or die situation. Naruto didn't want to fail, so any help would be most welcomed.

Fully prepared, he ran as fast as he could towards the Training Grounds.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke sighed. She had arrived at the specified time, five minutes early even, followed by that detestable pink-haired weirdo fangirl… she had thought Naruto would come in any second, and when he hadn't appeared in three hours, she was highly strung. The prospect of failing because the blonde perverted moron ran was not a comforting one.

For the past hour, she had drawn a doodle that somewhat resembled the blonde genin and began to stab it with her kunai, her killing intent washing around her, scaring a few birds from the tree where she sat.

Haruno Sakura looked torn. She had wanted so badly to be beside her crush, but his (she doesn't know Sasuke's a she) threatening aura, and the way he stabbed his kunai on the ground multiple times probably warned her to stay away.

Instead, she concentrated her thoughts on the very late blonde genin. Her temper rose as she began to berate the idiot for pulling such a stunt. They were lucky that the teacher was also nowhere to be seen, but what if Kakashi arrived without Naruto? What would happen?

Worse case scenario… they'd fail.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!"

Sasuke and Sakura perked up, hearing Naruto's voice. Sure enough, the blonde genin was running towards them. There was a small amount of relief released in the air, and the pink-haired kunoichi genin jogged towards the approaching blonde.

Naruto felt happy. He greeted his crush, and his crush is coming at him, prolly going to greet him back, or maybe have a morning hug… or maybe…

"Naruto… I love you! Let's get married, and I will cook you as much ramen as you want!" 

The image of Sakura doting over him, cooking him ramen, with mini-Narutos and mini-Sakuras running around got the blonde to grin happily… until Sakura, who had finally caught up with him, hooked her arm around his neck, and pushed all her strength to it, making the blonde choke and spin mid-air, and land on the grassy grounds in a coughing fit.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR BEING LATE YOU IDIOT!" Sakura shouted, raising her fist.

_**Huuu… impressive clothesline. Made you spin in the air… haha! **_

Naruto wasn't in the condition to respond. He was still hacking, trying to regain his breathing.

"YOU KNOW WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED IF KAKASHI-SENSEI ARRIVED EARLIER THAN YOU!?"

The blonde perked up. "Kakashi's not here!? Hell yes! I'm not totally late!"

He was hit over the head by Sakura's fist.

"You are so totally late!" Sakura growled. "What kept you anyway, you idiot?"

"Ow, ow," Naruto smiled, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "I had a late… night. Yeah! And… I guess I overslept…"

Sakura was about to berate the blonde more when a loud crack sounded clearly in around them. The pink haired genin and Naruto looked at the source of the sound… it was Sasuke, who dove his kunai deeply into a tree, looking quite deadly, her eyes staring towards the blonde intently.

Naruto stepped back, remembering he also had a psycho girl for a teammate, who had threatened to kill him. She also aimed for his tenders… and number one rule for guys who go sparring is to never go there!

_Oh… she's a girl. She's got different sets of rules… _and he shivered with that thought.

"Yeah… well, see? You got Sasuke-kun mad, you idiot!" Sakura declared, shaking her head. "Don't be late next time! What if we failed!? I'll blame you! Jerk!"

"Sorry, Sakura-chan…" Naruto mumbled, his head going down.

There was a slight stir in Naruto's shoulders. Gwendolyn, who had watched the whole exchanged, shook somewhat with mild disgust.

"What a butch…" she whispered, disgusted. "How un-ladylike."

Naruto laughed somewhat. Normally, if a guy berated Sakura-chan like that, he'd beat them up, but since a girl was the one that said it, he left it alone. They had different set of rules after all, something Ino and Sakura had mentioned to him when he tried to go between them to stop insulting each other.

It was a pretty memorable lesson. He still remembered how hard Ino punched as well.

"She may be a bit of a brute, but she's really gentle," Naruto replied, nodding, unaware at the fact that Sakura was at a listening distance, and being described as a brute ticked her off.

"What was that!?" Sakura demanded, cracking her knuckles, readying them for a little game of 'Hit the Moron'. Naruto could only fall back, nervously, raising his hands to quell her anger.

"Nothing, Sakura-chan! I swear, I didn't call you a brute!" he declared.

Gwendolyn looked somewhat stupefied, and hit her small hand to her small forehead. Kyuubi had something to say as well.

_**Ah… Moronic Alchemist strikes again… you make it too easy sometimes, moron. **_

Luckily for Naruto, before Sakura could reply to his confession with brute force, Kakashi had finally arrived, taking the heat away from Sakura, who was still mad, as she pointed an accusing finger at the jounin and declared her war-cry…

"YOU'RE LATE!"

"Mah, mah… sorry," Kakashi's eyes smiled. "I got lost in the road of life."

Everyone present, even the Wind Mana, had a sweat drop at the back of their heads. That was an obvious lie, they all thought at the same time. Before they could call him on that though, he placed an alarm clock in one of the three tree stumps.

"Now… this clock will alarm at noon…" Kakashi stated, his tone and posture going stern, making the three genin look at him seriously. The man took out two silver bells tied to a string, and showed it to them. He smiled, and began to explain the test.

* * *

Kakashi looked around, nodding somewhat as he felt satisfied knowing that at least two of his potential students were hiding their presence well… so why was it that this blonde one was shouting challenges at him?

"You're… kinda off, you know," the jounin sighed, scratching the back part of his head.

"Look in the mirror before you talk about who's off you walking scarecrow!" Naruto declared, smiling proudly at his insult. Without another word, the blonde genin then dashed towards the jounin, his fist ready to clobber him.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, sighing somewhat. His hands went towards his pouch, and his fingers felt the book he was wanting to read. He had thought that effect would make the blonde back off a bit, knowing how well intimidating he looked… with his stoic form, even a rookie academy student would think he was going towards a concealed weapon.

Unfortunately… Naruto, who had come out of a battle of the Mizuki-weak Punis, he was in no mood for surprises. He hadn't needed Kyuubi telling him that the adult ninja seemed to be taking out a weapon… he just took out his own.

Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke looked at the blonde in surprise as Naruto grabbed his deck out. In one fluid motion, he whipped his deck, the cards flowing outwards in a line, and would have hit the jounin, if he hadn't moved.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. She had for a moment, thought it was nothing more than a regular card deck, but when it came to attack the jounin, she was a bit shocked. What the heck was that weapon? And more importantly… where did Naruto get it?

Alchemic weapon, Kakashi had thought, dodging a few more strikes, courtesy of the blonde genin. Had he known, he wouldn't have even tried to grab for his book… alchemic weapons were more complex and more dangerous than even the best made chakra weapons. Naruto already had been dubbed as unpredictable, a comment that had been passed by a lot of chunnins and patrol ninjas who were trying to catch Naruto every time he did a prank. Now… he had a weapon… a card deck that seemed to act like a whip.

An strange weapon wielded by an unpredictable ninja. Kakashi smiled, somewhat, dodging more and more attacks, though they were coming closer and closer to hitting him.

"It's nice to see you taking this seriously," Kakashi declared. He dodged another attack, and then, began to pump chakra as he formed a few simple seals.

Naruto's next attack came without fail, and to the blonde's eyes, he finally hit the mark… until Kakashi transformed to a lock, with a puff of smoke.

"… but as a ninja, you shouldn't get caught from behind."

Sakura, and Sasuke's eyes widened as they watched the fight from the hiding place. Naruto was holding himself up pretty well against a joinin, which for them was a very strange, considering how they viewed him. They almost thought he would get the first hit, but now, the tables have turned. Kakashi was behind the blonde, and the two other genins realized that the jounin had a seal ready.

They both realized the meaning of the seal… Kakashi was going to unleash a ninjitsu, and they knew what was coming was a fire jutsu. Sakura shouted a warning to the blonde, fearing for his life… only to realize she was too late.

"Take this…" Kakashi declared. "Hidden Leaf Supreme Taijutsu Technique! One-Thousand Years of Pain!"

Sasuke's face turned very red, realizing the true nature of the jounin's attack. Naruto flew impressively in the air, holding his buttocks for dear life, screaming and shouting obscenities until he landed in the pond, quite a few distance away.

The youngest Uchiha looked bothered. She realized she had two perverts in her team. Naruto and Kakashi. Moreover, it bothered her more when she realized he could have done the same to her…

Of course… she'd kill him if he tried. Jounin or not.

* * *

Naruto… was not having a good day.

_**Hahahaha! That… that was good! Amazing! Stupendous! I thought I could deliver the biggest insult to you, the most moronic alchemist I ever laid eyes upon… but what he did… he did it better! A powerful ass poke! Enough to stop the great Uzumaki Naruto! **_

_Shut up! _Naruto growled, swimming with one hand. The other was trying to find solace for his buttocks. He cursed. _Kyuubi… help me! This guy's going down! Stupid scarecrow! I'll kick his ass! _

_**Count me out! I like what the guy did, so I'm gonna leave you alone for this test. Enjoy it… moron! **_

As Kyuubi laughed one last time, Naruto began to curse and berate the self-proclaimed Mana of Chaos for being an unhelpful bastard… of course, his complaints fell on deaf ears. Deciding to ignore the fox Mana his eyes went for his shoulder, seeing Gwendolyn stifling her laughter with her hand.

Naruto growled, and swam up, pushing himself towards solid ground, breathing deeply. He slid down for a moment, and whispered, "Laugh it up, why dontcha?"

"I'm sorry, Naruto… but…" Gwendolyn giggled a bit. "It was funny."

Just a few meters away, Kakashi watched the boy pull himself out of the water, his eyes smiling. He had already locked into the location of the other two genin, and put that information away for later use. Right now, he was concentrating on the blonde alchemist, wondering if he was going to be given any more surprises.

"Kuso…!" Naruto cursed. He stood up, and saw Kakashi watching him with a relaxed stance. "I'm going to kill you… scarecrow bastard!"

"Try harder then… dead last," Kakashi teased.

The blonde growled… and before anyone could blink, a cyclone suddenly emerged, covering Naruto, hiding him from view. Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura looked surprise, wondering what was going on… and when the cyclone died, two of the genins gasped somewhat.

Naruto was now wearing body armor, completely covering his legs and his forearms, but fractured around his chest area. Along with that was a weird weapon with a spear tip with his hand, Naruto suddenly dashed towards the jounin, leaving behind colored wind energy that almost seemed to form a wing shape pattern on his back.

Kakashi's eyebrows raised, realizing Naruto had suddenly gained a good amount of speed. He nimbly dodged the obvious attack coming at him, and readied himself. If the boy could do a rather effective form with cards… what could he do with a weapon that looked like it could actually kill him?

To his disappointment, Naruto's form was far from good. His card forms, as imperfect as it was, at least covered his defensive grounds. Kakashi didn't know how one would defend using cards, but the boy's feet was at least steady with each attack. Using his new weapon however, his footwork was gone, and his form had left him open to so many counter attacks…

If Naruto had been any slower, Kakashi would probably had tried to at least exploit those openings, but the boy quickly corrected himself in his strike, and began to slash wildly around. Kakashi just grinned, and began to dodge nimbly.

"No… no… that's not… Naruto… no… wait…" Gwendolyn's sentences never finished as she watched Naruto just attack… in a horrible form. She sighed, figuring out that training him soon with her weapon would be the first thing she'd do. Correcting him here was rather useless as he was attacking in somewhat blind rage. She just sighed. "Oh... just go on..."

"You sure you should wield a dangerous weapon… you might hurt yourself," the jounin smiled as he dodged another strike easily.

Naruto growled dangerously, and instead of slashing, he began stabbing. Kakashi settled from dodging side to side to moving slightly backwards. The jounin even began to calculate the total length of the weapon Naruto had been using and the range of his stabs, and began to dodge each stab by a hair.

"Oh… that was close," Kakashi continued to tease, enjoying the reaction he was getting from the blond. "Oh… another one. And another. Wow… you're getting close to stabbing me, dead last…"

Naruto growled, incensed as the jounin just kept pushing it, but he tried to remain emotionless. Uzumaki Naruto, the self claimed future Hokage, also a learning alchemist, with two Mana partners would at times display great insights. Whether Kyuubi knew or not, his advices for battle had eventually been somewhat ingrained to Naruto's own battle instincts, coupled along with the blonde's natural adaptability and quick thinking from years of practicing pranks... he got an idea.

Kakashi grinned as he kept dodging each attack by backing away a few centimeters from the blade. The next attack was, again, obvious, but to his great surprise, the weapon suddenly expanded. If he hadn't forced chakra to his legs and his hips, his head would have been shish kabobed by the forming spear.

"Nice trick, Naruto," Kakashi declared as he began to move his body. "It seems you're really serious... I'm starting to like you. But..."

Hands of blinding speed suddenly caught Naruto's arm as he was about to unleash another attack. With his arms locked with Kakashi, and the man being bigger and heavier than the blonde, he was slowly being pushed back forcibly. Trying to get the jounin to let go of him, he extended his foot to kick Kakashi, only for a rope to appear, and attach itself around his extended foot, and reeled him up, hanging him upside down a tree.

Naruto cursed as he found himself upside down, looking towards the jounin, who's eyes were smiling.

"Surprised me there," Kakashi grinned, feeling good about his handiwork. "You were fast... but your form sucked. Nice weapon... fooled me to thinking it had a fixed range, only to extend to a spear... but you should know, a spear's specialty is mid-range to long range attacks... close range, you're just asking for someone to lock you in your place.

"Plus extending your foot like that... you just asked me to tie a rope on it and hang you like a straw doll," the jounin finished.

"He's right you know..." the Wind Mana's voice came. The blonde growled.

"I know, DAMNIT!" he shouted.

Kakashi, not hearing the Wind Mana, assumed the boy had been talking to him, and just shook his head.

"Uhm... I'm telling you this because you don't," he stated. "You know... you really should start listen..."

The jounin didn't finish what he was about to say because suddenly, shuriken and kunai had suddenly impaled his side, forcing Naruto's mouth open with shock as blood flew from the wounds. The man then slumped towards the ground, looking as dead as a corpse.

Out of the corner of Naruto's eye, he could see Sasuke standing up, her arms wrapped around her chest. He knew who threw those projectiles...

"Sasuke... you psycho!" Naruto shouted nervously. "That was too much!"

Sasuke ignored the blonde's shout. It was pretty silly, considering the jounin had practically told them to try and kill him to get the bells, so when she saw an opening, she took it. She was about to claim her prize when the man suddenly turned to a log.

"Damnit... another Kawarimi!" Sasuke whispered, and moved. She berated herself for falling for that one... now Kakashi knows where she was hidden!

At the same moment, Sakura began to move, wondering where her crush was. She had opted to help him, but now, she couldn't feel the Uchiha's presence. Darting from branch to branch silently, she suddenly spotted Kakashi nearby, reading an orange book.

She stopped, calming her breathe completely, silencing and trying to mask her presence. She took a small tentative look and see if the man had seen her.

"Sakura..." a voice from behind suddenly called.

* * *

"Naruto... when this test is over... I am going to give you one long lesson on how to handle my weapon."

"Yes, Gwendolyn..." Naruto muttered.

"That's Gwendolyn-sensei..."

The Wind Mana was sounding rather hoarse and embarrassed at the same time. Her pride had somehow taken a blow... no matter how kind-hearted Naruto is, as his partner, he should at least show some dignity! Using her weapon like that... if other Mana found out, they'd never live it down.

The blonde sighed. It was one thing to get lectured by Kakashi, but now he had the kind Wind Mana he had helped saved last night also lecturing him. She sounded angry... very angry, but kept herself from exploding. He felt somewhat sorry he had let her down.

It didn't help Kyuubi was just laughing his ass off. One of these days, he was going to find a way to kill the fox Mana.

A scream pierced the air. Naruto recognized the voice... it was Sakura-chan's! With quick motion, he cut himself free from his binding, and landed cleanly on the ground. Panicking as he took a running start, he was about to check where the voice had come from when Gwendolyn suddenly told him to stop.

"What is it?" Naruto replied, sounding a bit annoyed. Sakura-chan is in trouble!

"Something's been bothering me about the test..." the Wind Mana muttered. In his mind, Gwendolyn looked thoughtful.

"We can think about it later!" the blonde cut her off, and continued his run. "We'll get Sakura-chan first, then tell me what's bothering you... okay?"

Gwendolyn just nodded, though wanting Naruto to take some time to hear her. The jounin had shown absolute skill compared to the three. Even with alchemic weapons, Naruto had been utterly shown up... it would make sense if the man wanted to see their skills, but there were other means to gain that information. Plus the whole bell concept bothered her... it was as almost as it was designed for conflict between the children.

Still... she held her thoughts. Naruto decided on a course of action, and she learned he was as hard headed as a mad bull. A mad bull wearing orange.

She giggled at the image.

Naruto, shrugging when he heard her giggle, just continued on his way. He felt a sudden rush of heat emanating from his left. Curious, he took a slight detour, and hid behind the leafy trees, balancing between the branches for a good while, until he got to a clearing. He spotted Sasuke's head poking out of the dirt.

He snorted, covering his mouth with his hand, trying to stifled his laughter. Well, the psycho girl deserved it... and he left, and went on his merry way to find his crush, the beautiful Sakura-chan.

In the clearing, Sasuke's ears perked up when she heard soft laughter emanating from the trees. She spotted orange and yellow streaking away from her, and she gritted her teeth.

"You... DEAD LAST!" she screamed, furious the boy had just left her there. She was so going to kill him!

* * *

The alarm clock rang. Nobody had gotten the bell...

Sasuke and Sakura had come towards the stumps together. The pink-haired kunoichi, who had been hit by a genjutsu by Kakashi, had stumbled upon Sasuke's head, and thought the worse. The youngest Uchiha had been quite angry at the blonde for leaving her there, and even have the gall to laugh at her situation, forced herself out of the hole.

She was covered in dust, looked very mangled, and emanating killing intent that Sakura had not dared approach her when she woke up. When they both had come towards the stumps, where the alarm clock rang, they just sat down, a good space between them.

Kakashi smiled. He was carrying a bundle behind him, and the two kunoichis (one disguised as a boy) looked somewhat curious what he was carrying, until the jounin threw it at them. The bundle cried out suddenly in pain as it impacted the ground.

It was Naruto, hog-tied, and if anyone noticed his clothes were back to normal.

"He was wandering around the forest," Kakashi stated, looking bored. When he saw the Uchiha suddenly taking out a kunai, looking murderously at the blonde, he raised his hand. "Maa, maa... now's not the time for that. I have something to announce... it's about the training."

Sakura looked up, while Sasuke growled, and hid her kunai back. She was just going to take a non-lethal stab... Naruto just sweated, feeling the killing intent wash at his back for a good moment. He could guess what Kakashi had tried to stop.

"Well... I don't see the need for you three to go back to the Academy," Kakashi declared. The three genins looked somewhat relieved, until the jounin finished his sentence. "Because all three of you should just quit being ninjas."

* * *

Everything was explained... the purpose of the test, why they were divided into three teams. Naruto hung his head, ashamed. It wasn't because he had failed to reach the conclusion of the test (no one did anyway), but because of his actions just earlier.

Hadn't Gwendolyn warned him there was something up with the test and he just totally blocked her out? He had promised to treat his Mana partners as they were supposed to be treated... as partners. Then... he does this.

_**Hmph... I told you moron... you're just human. **_

Naruto sighed, not feeling up to it in sparring Kyuubi with insults. His reckless actions were beginning to bite back to him, making him wonder if he just spoke empty words, or if his promises were just dismissible... a prospect he found very discomforting.

The Wind Mana may have read his feelings, because she was over his shoulder again, tapping it, comforting. She hadn't minded him being selfish... he was somewhat obsessed with the pink brute, so she could understand. Yeah... sure she was somewhat put off when he just disregarded her, but the blonde seemed to take it heavier than usual.

"You guys... I'll give you one more chance," the jounin looked at them with his visible eye, seriously. "Eat lunch... but afterwards, I'll make the test harder. If you want to continue, eat... but don't give Naruto any."

The blonde boy, now tied to a stump, didn't respond, looking down on the ground, in deep thought. Sakura didn't bat an eyelash, but Sasuke looked somewhat surprised. She looked towards the blonde, feeling somewhat sorry for him.

"Its punishment for laughing at a teammate in trouble," Kakashi explained. His eyes narrowed, looking at the three genin with dead seriousness. "Anyone who gives him lunch... you all fail. Got it? I. Am. The. Rules. Here."

The jounin disappeared, leaving the three genin to their own devices. Sakura, already very hungry, dropped her self control for a moment and dove towards one of the lunchboxes and began to eat. Sasuke took the other one, and stealed a look at the blonde, who hadn't raised his head.

The smell of food wafted through the air, and Naruto's stomach rumbled. The Uchiha smirked, wondering if the blonde was going to say something. He did... but not until a few moments of silence.

"I'm sorry..." he had muttered.

Sasuke blinked. Well... that was the first time she ever heard the blonde apologize seriously, not out of his wits because he was being threatened by sharp pointy objects. There was a mix of sorrow and regret to his voice, adding more weight to his apology.

She appreciated it.

Unfortunately... he hadn't actually meant it for her. Naruto's apology was in fact directed towards the Wind Mana, who just nodded, and continued to tap on his shoulder, assuring.

Of course, what the last Uchiha didn't know wouldn't hurt her... or more importantly, the blonde. Ironically enough, it was his words that would finally get their genin lives started, and unknown to them, it was the first reaffirmation of their destinies.

"Hn... its fine," Sasuke muttered in her brooding voice. She still had an image to keep. Without another word, she slowly extended her arm, offering her lunchbox towards the blonde, who looked at her, surprised.

"Sa... Sasuke-kun!" Sakura jumped up, looking shocked. "Don't! Sensei said..."

"Hn," Sasuke cut her off quickly. "I don't sense him nearby... besides... without food, he'll just get in the way. After lunch... lets get the bells together."

The blonde looked at the Uchiha for some time, blushing somewhat. The girl was pretty decent when she was like this... but then again, there was a small part of him thatwondered, silently, if the psycho girl was just acting kind and offering her food because she poisoned it.

Yes, he was silly like that.

However, he wasn't really forced into actually finding out if her food was or was not poisoned as Sakura also offered up her box. The blonde's eyes widened, then smiled.

"Thanks!" he muttered towards the pink-haired kunoichi. The youngest Uchiha just rolled her eyes.

"Hn..." she muttered, continued on eating, while she left Sakura to feed the blonde with her chopsticks.

A terrifying presence suddenly made itself known, exploding to a cloud of smoke. Sakura dropped her lunch box, while Naruto, in panic, dropped the morsel he was about to chew, while Sasuke's hands went towards her kunai pouch, ready to stave off a attack that might be coming.

"You GUYS!!!" Kakashi's voice boomed, freezing the three genins in their place. "... pass."

The last word came out calmly, and playfully that the genin, still frozen hadn't realized what he had said until a few moments later. Sakura and Naruto both had a confused expression, and while Sasuke was as well, she kept her expression well hidden behind her facade.

"Heh..." Kakashi's visible eye smiled. He had enjoyed that little reaction.

"Wait... pass? But... but how?" Sakura was the first one to speak. She was still confused at the turn of events.

"Heh... well there was bound to be a first time," Kakashi stated, relaxing a bit. Unconsciously, that had the effect of relaxing the three genins. "The others would just follow what I said... what a bunch of morons."

He looked at them, his eyes somewhat going serious. Naruto was reminded of Iruka's face as he was about to lecture them.

"A ninja must look underneath of the underneath," the jounin muttered seriously. "It is said a ninja who does not follow rules are trash... but you know what? Anyone who doesn't take care of their comrades are lower than that."

Naruto looked slightly abashed. The lecture had hit him closer to home than any of his teammates. Sakura looked more excited that she passed, stealing a few looks at the Uchiha, who took a deep breathe of relief.

The blonde reaffirmed his promise. He swore in silence, promising to treat his Mana partners with more respect. He was definitely going to try and treat Gwendolyn better, as she was the fourth person (or at least the first Mana) who had openly accepted him as he was, acknowledging his existence and worth.

He swore to treat her better.

_**Hmph... I'll be here, as always, to point out your failures. Moron. **_

_Shut it, bastard! _Naruto thought strongly.

He smiled again when the jounin, his new sensei, Kakashi, raised his arm, giving them the thumb's up. "That ends the training! You all PASS!" he declared, his visible eye smiling. "Starting tomorrow, Team Seven will begin its duties!"

Sakura celebrated, while Sasuke had a small smile. Naruto smiled somewhat, feeling an aura of comradeship surrounding him. Maybe he'd extend that promise to his new teammates as well... after all, if what Kakashi said was right, he was stuck with them.

His crush, the passionate Sakura-chan. The psycho girl, Sasuke, who could also be kind when she wants to be... and Kakashi, who seemed pretty cool on his own right... that was until the three left, leaving him still tied up on the stump.

"HEY!" the blonde shouted. "GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!"

He was ignored.

* * *

"Bye, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura declared, looking back at her crush as she ran back home.

The youngest Uchiha sighed a breathe of relief. She looked towards her new jounin-sensei, who looked blankly at the pink-haired who had left them, and she went on her way.

Kakashi continued to follow.

"What do you want?" Sasuke growled. She didn't like being followed, even if it was her new teacher.

"I'm just wondering how long you think you can just disguise yourself, Uchiha Saki," the jounin replied.

The young Uchiha glared at him, her eyes roving around to see if there were any listeners.

"Don't call me that!" the Uchiha growled. Who did the jounin think he was, calling her by her real name out in the open? "If you compromise me, I'll tell the Hokage..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know... Sasuke-kun," Kakashi waved his hand. "No one was listening, and no one heard, so don't worry you're pretty little head off."

"Hn..." Saki muttered. She looked towards the jounin. "When you brought that blonde pervert back... did you confiscate his weapon?"

"Nope... it disappeared when I knocked him out," Kakashi replied truthfully. "Why interested?"

"I... wanted to learn where he got his weapons. A card deck that acted like a whip, and a short weapon that transformed to a spear... strange as he never gotten such weapons during the academy."

"Think they'd help with your ambition?" the jounin asked, shaking his head. "We're ninjas. We keep secrets, Sasuke-kun, and Naruto probably has his. You best well know this since you have your own."

"Hmph... considering that perverted blonde knows mine... I think I deserve to know a few of his secrets," Saki replied darkly.

Kakashi stopped on his tracks, his eyes widening. "When?"

"Three days ago," the Uchiha replied. "At night... in my house."

"Didn't you blow yourself up practicing a jutsu?" the jounin asked.

"Like I'd actually make a mistake using fire jutsu... or even try practicing inside the house," she rolled her eyes.

Kakashi nodded. That made sense... why would an Uchiha, whose primary elemental affinity that was fire, who also had enough chakra to unleash a powerful fireball at him earlier, would try and actually pull off a fire jutsu inside their house?

The only explanation was Naruto. Factoring him, along with the way Kakashi's mind worked after reading many Icha Icha books, he imagined a completely accurate reason how the blonde boy knew how the last Uchiha was a girl... and why Saki seemed very pissed off at the blonde yesterday.

Wait a minute... three days ago... other than the supposed accident at the Uchiha's current lodgings, there was another incident that had happened later on.

"Naruto's apartment caught fire... was that your doing?" the jounin asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Saki declared, not looking at the jounin in the eye.

Rushing away before Kakashi could ask any more, the last Uchiha just leapt towards a nearby rooftop, and bounded away. The jounin had been tempted to follow, but stood his ground, looking at the sky with some wonderment. Grabbing his book out of his pouch, he began to scan the pages where he left off, and the continued to read.

He giggled, making his way back to Hokage tower. The team was volatile at best... Uchiha Saki (or Sasuke as she calls herself), the last surviving Uchiha, who also apparently inherited her mother's temper before she settled down with Saki's father, Haruno Sakura, coming from a civilian family, though does have shinobi blood in her and had a big crush on the last Uchiha, and finally, the blonde alchemist, Uzumaki Naruto who seemed to know how to light fuses of the Uchiha...

Well, at least his team was interesting, he thought, before he giggled at another passage.

* * *

**Omake!!**

Naruto sighed, in defeat, still tied to a stump for almost an hour. No one came back to him, and he was pretty much pissed off and hungry. The happiness of passing as a genin had not comforted him since he had been wanting the sweet (actually salty) delicious taste of the food from the gods... Ramen!

"Hello!?" Naruto called. "Anyone out there!?"

"Um... Naruto, I can free you..." Gwendolyn offered, but the blonde shook his head.

"No, Gwendolyn-chan... you put with my selfishness already..." the blonde replied, looking solemn. "I have to get out on my own."

_**Oh... on your own... is that why you're screaming for help? And shouldn't a ninja be capable of escaping a tied rope? Seriously... you're a bad alchemist, and a bad ninja. Where did the talents of your mother go to? The toilet? **_

Naruto growled, and began to struggle, trying to loosen the rope (by some miracle, he had hoped, maybe), only for the rope to suddenly rob in one of his hidden inner pockets, igniting one of his alchemic items.

Naruto's hair stood up straight as a bright light flashed... it was so bright, his skeleton was could be seen, if anyone was around, as his body jerked left and right. He slumped down when the electricity died down.

Kyuubi was laughing harder. Apparently, he had accidentally tripped one of his electric rods, forcing it to explode into electrical current... but what the fox got going even more was the fact Naruto had completely forgotten he had been carrying bomb items he could have used in the test.

"Gwendolyn... um..." Naruto mumbled, not knowing what to say.

"Help you out?" she asked, smiling.

"Um... yes... please..." he replied... defeated.

* * *

_Author's Notes: _

_Not much. Revealed Sasuke's real name (Saki Uchiha, short-tempered, as Kakashi described), more direct-from-the-manga-turned-anime-turned-fuel-for-fanfiction, and hopefully more silliness. I had a few plans for next chapter to be somewhat more original, because... well... our dear Naruto is about to meet Choice B... Hyuuga Hinata. _

_Later! _


	6. Chapter 6

Good gods, Naruto hated being a ninja. Or at least, hated being a genin. As he pulled out a few weeds along with his teammates, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke (whose real name is Saki, which Naruto has yet to find out), he wondered why the hell he was given such a damn awful and hard test by that jounin Kakashi if this is what they were going to do:

Pull weeds, baby sit, walk dogs… D-Rank missions? Hah! More like frigging chores!

Plus that bastard Kakashi, who had not even trained them at all, still appeared late during morning meetings (he'd almost appear in the afternoon times), was just reading some orange book, giggling like an idiot under the shade of a tree while the three were sweating under the great big ball of fire they call the Sun.

This was not the life Naruto had been expecting. He imagined knocking off a few bandits, escorting pretty princesses or lords, transport precious items from one place to another… and here he was, pulling some damn weeds.

_**Moron, you're pulling out vegetation… **_

Naruto seethed, not caring… until Sakura did the honors, and slapped him behind his head, saying, "You idiot! That's not weed you're pulling!"

"Sorry, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned back towards the girl, appreciating the love-tap she just gave him.

Gwendolyn just sighed. One of these days, she'd have to set up her partner with someone more… worthy. Someone nice, gentle, caring…

* * *

Somewhere else, Hinata sneezed.

* * *

"Dismissed," Kakashi declared after they have returned to the Hokage's office to receive their pay. Naruto shouted with glee, finally free from these awful missions, and ran out of the office, imagining himself much later, when his day really starts.

Kakashi's training exercises were pretty boring, and although he claimed to be doing this to help bring the team closer together, Naruto wanted more. Kyuubi had given him a taste of what hard training felt like, and plus the promise with his new Wind Mana partner, he wanted to be quickly competent with his spear as with his cards.

Moments later, the blonde genin was in a forest clearing, in between two training grounds. Grabbing his Fate Cards, he took two blank cards along with his own card, poured energy in it. The result was the two blank cards becoming copy of his cards, and when he put those cards back in the deck, two of his copies emerged.

"Time for training, I see," Gwendolyn stated. From the blonde's shoulder's, she emerged, glowing, and growing in size until she was similar to the form she had used when Naruto and her fought back in the Corridor of the Wind, spear in her hand.

"Yeah," Naruto smiled, his cards still on his hand. "As usual… I'm with the bastard."

Kyuubi sniffed, annoyed.

"I'll be training with Gwendolyn-cha…"

The Wind Mana bopped Naruto's head gently, but with enough force to convey her displeasure. That clone, and the original Naruto grimaced as they felt the top of their heads stinging.

"Gwendolyn-sensei," she corrected the blonde, her eyes narrowing.

"Sorry, Gwendolyn-sensei," the clone declared, smiling sheepishly.

"And I'll gather materials!" the third clone declared.

The set-up was something Kyuubi had designed a week ago, when Naruto had realized he didn't exactly want to just do boring teamwork-nourishing exercises and stupid D-Rank missions only each and every day.

Kakashi's survival test only convinced the blonde boy one thing… he wasn't strong enough yet. Kyuubi laughing, Gwendolyn being embarrassed, being faced with the punishing thought that he had just disregarded his partner's thoughts even after promising he wouldn't… the blonde genin knew he didn't want to experience that day again.

For the past week, Naruto had been using Jade Shift, a very peculiar skill that Kyuubi taught him first. It was potentially deadly, both for and against the user. Put it simply, it made a clone of himself, but more importantly, a clone so very well connected that whatever the clone experiences, Naruto does as well. If a clone gets injured, Naruto gets injured. If a clone spots something the original hadn't… the original would see it.

The connection was so close that even death-blows will feel like death-blows. It won't, thankfully, result in death, but Kyuubi had warned not to even try getting hit by one.

In combat, it's restrictive, if not complex. One cannot just foolishly send clones to attack an enemy. The battle of the corrupted Wind Mana had taught the blonde that responsible usage of his clones was the best way to go… and he hated that little fact since he had discovered it. It was one of the coolest skills ever! It also represented his (somewhat) mastery of his weakest jutsu, the Bushin, and now, he finds out, he couldn't liberally use it?

It sucked! It was unfair! Foul!

Of course… that was until Kyuubi said the Jade Shift skill could be used as a training tool. The self-proclaimed Great Mana of Chaos had explained that the clones and original were so closely connected (he was actually talking about the skill bending time-space whatchamacallit and something… Naruto didn't fully listen) that if he trained one of his clones with different techniques and forms, he would remember it. Mental and muscle memory… whatever those meant.

As usual, when he hadn't understood, Kyuubi made him and a clone of his train both cards and the shortened spear weapons, separated the two by at least a good kilometer… and when the whole training session was done, Naruto's muscles burned with his mind flashing in all the forms Gwendolyn and Kyuubi had taught him.

Needless to say… he had remembered both their teachings, and he could do the two different forms, and Naruto was pretty much ecstatic.

Kyuubi called him a machoist. Guess that Fox Mana hadn't met Lee and Guy. Or was it Gai?

Anyway, because of the boy's progress, Kyuubi had fulfilled another promise… he allowed Naruto to expand his alchemic work. Graduating from bombs and healing potions, Naruto had began to move on more specific curative concoctions. He learned to make a potion that cured almost all poisons and other induced ailments, a potion that naturally increased chakra and energy production, and finally, Nectar, which was a powerful potion that allowed it to heal any fatal wounds as long as its applied before the person dies

Naruto was also cleared to start making weapons and armored clothing. In the works, currently, was his new jacket, something Kyuubi had been clamoring about for the past week. The new clothing was supposed to make Naruto look more dignified and whatnot, and the blonde only agreed to wear them when he could add orange to them.

Naruto also was given the responsibility of making alterations to his Fate Cards, and so far, the blonde could only think of a couple ways to improve his weapon, and held off that project until his clothes were done.

Speaking of weapons, Naruto also began to make and maintain his basic utilities. Kunai and shuriken, the basic tools of any ninja, which he usually bought in sparse amounts (they were expensive, and considering how much he ate).

Now, all he did was get all his blunted and rusty metal weapons, and after minimal time in the alchemic pot, he'd have them new again, even sharper and more balanced than before. If he needed new ones, he'd take a quick visit to the blacksmith where he'd buy pig iron and he'd combine it with some charcoal to transfigure them to weapons.

Of course, it wasn't as cheap as it sounded. Any new alchemic items meant more materials needed. Potions, he could usually get by with plant wildlife, which was pretty abundant in Fire Country, but for weapons and clothing armor, he had to visit the blacksmith.

Pig iron may have been cheap compared to ready-made weapons, but he also had to contend the fact that the Third Hokage had stopped giving him allowance since he had graduated. The old man explained to the boy that as a ninja, he was now considered an adult in the village, and thus, his allowance would be forfeited.

On the plus side… ninjas never ran out of work, especially in the Hidden Leaf… but unfortunately, D-Rank missions don't pay much, especially with the things Naruto was doing. Explaining that, the old man suggested selling his potions.

The blonde agreed, thinking he'd get a few extra Ryo along with his D-Rank missions… he had thought it wouldn't help much, until the Hokage gave him a C-Rank payment for only fifteen vials of healing potion. And they weren't even large vials too!

Getting that much money it afforded Naruto to buy even more materials, he could pay his water and electric bills easily, and he would never go hungry anymore (or at least not always leash Iruka on getting free ramen).

Ever since that day, Naruto made three clones; one to train his usage on his Fate Cards, one to train with Gwendolyn, and the other to gather materials for synthesizing healing potions.

Unbeknownst to him, his training scheme had made him avoid a very curious and quite forceful kunoichi…

* * *

Uchiha Saki scanned the streets, watching out for anything orange or yellow. It's been a week, and questions she had wanted to ask Naruto had been festering inside, bubbling with anticipation, and stashed with failure. She could never corner the Uzumaki genin alone... so many questions she had wanted to ask, so much to learn. Yet, every time they would finish their missions, the blonde would run away, never to appear until the next day.

The young Uchiha had went, at first, towards Naruto's apartment, which she had burned down. No luck… there was nothing to indicate the blonde had returned there. Actually… there was no evidence the place was actually being occupied anymore.

She asked questions in that sector, wondering if anyone had seen the blonde. They responded negatively (to her question and to Naruto's name, much to her curiosity). Realizing inquiries were going nowhere, she went and searched all Ramen restaurants and stands (Naruto was a self-proclaimed Ramen addict), and she, surprisingly, couldn't fine Naruto anywhere.

Of course, Saki could try and talk to the blonde in the morning, when they first meet. Kakashi pretty much arrives late, but she was held back by the notion that the blonde wouldn't be too… accommodating. Threatening him was rather useless, especially in front of Sakura, as he may spill the beans about the Uchiha's true nature, and she wouldn't have that.

Another alternative was to wait the whole day to look out for him, but she couldn't cut her training time… her brother wasn't getting weaker, she told herself. Kakashi's team exercises weren't exactly demanding or taxing her in any way… and it annoyed her to no end.

She needed more power and skills to kill Itachi.

Distracting her from her thoughts, she spotted a blonde figure walking down the streets… and she was about to celebrate her success when she just realized it was just another fangirl of hers… what was her name? Piglet?

Saki sighed, realizing that today was another mission failure. Her thoughts scrambled as she went back towards her residence.

There was another day, another time, as she always said to herself for the past week.

Unfortunately, her thoughts were not as comforting as it was before. Every passing day… she was somewhat desperate in finding the blonde and interrogate him; about his weapons… and to get back at him for making her search for him.

* * *

"Wow… I… we look cool!" the third Naruto clone looked solemn as the original Naruto and the second Naruto clone began to spar against each other.

It was already evening. They had been training for almost four hours straight, not even stopping for ramen dinner. Naruto's form with his Fate Cards has vastly improved in a week. Gone were the irritating small steps he'd take every time he'd attack, and his defensive form, Water, was now flowing without a hitch. He was even using new attack katas and forms.

The second Naruto clone handled the spear, and the shortened version of the weapon quite well. In fact, Gwendolyn was smiling widely, seeing her teachings being used correctly (finally, she can forget the all the nightmares Naruto had induced when he first used her weapon in combat against a jounin), and cheered the boy on, in a dignified manner, of course.

The spar looked spectacular, but all present knew it was nothing but a show. What the original Naruto and second Naruto clone would use, the other would dodge cleanly. They knew each other's attacks, and they knew what they'd use, making the whole fight rather pointless, but it did serve its purpose… it allowed Naruto to use both weapons and their forms in combat. Any flaws, Gwendolyn, Kyuubi and the third Naruto clone would point out.

"Good," Gwendolyn declared as the two Narutos separated from themselves. "Let's call it a day, shall we?"

* * *

Another week passed. Haruno Sakura asked her crush for a date, only to be turned down. Uchiha Saki, known widely as Uchiha Sasuke, steamed more and more as her search for the blonde after each D-Rank missions, only to keep failing… plus the fact that Sakura got more annoying (if that was possible) everyday.

Add to the mix that Kakashi hadn't still gotten out of his apparent laziness in teaching them anything useful (in her eyes), and as a result, her temper was beginning to tread on dangerous grounds.

What lit her fuse though was Naruto. The blonde genin had been looking more and more tired everyday, walking oddly, like he was suffering from the most severe case of muscle fatigue. He still acted like the same idiotic blonde, but Saki, being a prodigy, correctly assumed he had been training.

Hard.

She realized that while she tried to satisfy her curiosity, scrambling over the rooftops of the Hidden Leaf Village, the blonde had apparently been busy… and it bothered her. She knew, in terms of skill, she had the upper hand, but now, she realized, it seemed that the dead-last of her class had gotten his hands on two odd weapons.

Sure, he wasn't proficient on that weird expanding spears of his but that was two weeks ago… how much had his skill increased by then? Had it, she dreaded the thought, become higher than hers?

Saki never liked to disillusion herself… she'd never think herself to be invincible, or gods' gift to the Elemental Countries. Itachi had made sure of that, especially when… when…

She shivered and shoved out memories of her brother away… the good, and the bad alike. Right now, she reminded herself, she was focused on only one boy… and that was Naruto.

She decided, finally, to search for him full time. She needed to know where she stood compared to the Academy's so called dead-last. She needed to know how much Naruto had improved.

And punish him for hiding from her.

"Yo…" a voice called, taking Saki back to the real world.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura and Naruto shouted towards their jounin-sensei, pointing an accusing finger on him.

Great… wonder what Jounin Late Wonder's excuse is today, the Uchiha thought before donning the brooding avenging mask of Uchiha Sasuke, and said nothing.

Kakashi didn't disappoint.

"I was on my way when I came across a black cat…"

"LIAR!"

* * *

"I hate D-Rank missions…" Naruto declared, earning a small smile from Kakashi, hidden behind his mask, behind his orange book.

Just earlier, Team Seven was assigned to walk a minor lord's dogs. He had an impressive array and breeding, declaring boldly that any dog he owned was either a champion or from a lineage of champions.

The shinobis present were not impressed. Inuzuka dogs were definitely stronger and bigger, and (their opinion) more beautiful than these dogs. Plus, they were extremely well behaved and trained.

Unfortunately, these dogs were not, as the blonde genin would attest to later.

Hoping to impress his crush, Naruto went and grabbed as many leashes as he could, and began to make a complete fool of himself. His muscles were already overworked and tired, so the dogs had no problem overpowering him as they began to drag him everywhere… including a training area filled with landmines.

Saki had winced as she felt and heard each explosion, punctuated by a shockwave. The blonde had screamed after each explosion, and the youngest Uchiha felt some satisfaction, hearing the blonde yelp in pain.

He deserved it, she had thought.

"Maa, maa," Kakashi declared, placing a bookmark on the page of his orange book, before closing it. "Let this be a lesson for you, Naruto. Don't bite off more than you could chew."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto looked miffed.

"Anyway, good job guys," Kakashi declared looking at his students. "Meet back at the training grounds tomorrow, same time. Dismissed."

"Ne… Kakashi-sensei… would it hurt for you to come early?" Naruto asked.

The jounin's visible eye smiled, before he disappeared, leaving swirling leaves in his wake. The three genins rolled their eyes, having expected that from their teacher, and the blonde one went on his way, leaving the two kunoichis alone.

Saki was about to follow when he found himself staring at Sakura, who placed herself between her and her target. The Uchiha's eyes narrowed.

"Sasuke-kun… would you… um… like to train… with… me?"

If she hadn't squealed the last part, Sakura would probably have half-convinced the raven-haired kunoichi into thinking she actually meant it (but get rejected anyway), but since she had, and Saki had other things to deal with, the youngest Uchiha just scoffed, and pushed her away.

It was meant to be a forceful push… a threat, or a warning, telling the pink-haired kunoichi that the youngest Uchiha was not interested, ever, and that she was getting annoyed with her person, tactics, and pink hair (sure, Sakura couldn't be blamed for genetics, but come on). However, instead of those, Sakura almost blacked out as her face flushed to crimson at contact.

Thankfully… Saki had gone before she could hear the pink-haired kunoichi talking about how Sasuke-kun touched her.

She would have gotten burned, figuratively… and maybe, if Naruto's apartment could declare, literally.

* * *

In the Forest, in between training grounds, Naruto and two of his clones began to their daily regiment. For now, Gwendolyn had decided to take it somewhat slow, and Kyuubi agreed with her. Instead of learning new forms today, Naruto would just practice the forms he currently knew.

The third Naruto clone, whose only job was material gathering, was about to do his job when he remembered something. Snapping his fingers, he cursed somewhat, realizing he had overlooked something quite important.

The other Naruto's took some time before they too remembered.

"Hey… weren't we supposed to deliver to Hokage the forty-five vials of healing potion?" the original Naruto declared.

"Yeah… plus those cotton cloths we had pre-ordered," the second Naruto clone added, remembering they were going to put more touches towards his new clothes.

"No worries!" the third Naruto clone declared, looking happy. "I'll get 'em!"

"Don't sneak out for ramen you bastard!" the original Naruto declared, reading the smile off his clone's face.

"Meh… you're no fun," the clone replied, sullen.

* * *

Uchiha Saki growled louder, sitting near the rooftops, spying for anything orange and blonde. She had decided that if she hadn't found him today, she'd corner the blonde pervert, and beat the crap out of him.

Fortunately for the blonde, it wasn't even sundown yet when she spotted Naruto. Her eyes narrowed, her mind going to hunting mode… using all stealth skills she had been taught by the academy, and by her own clan notes as well, she stalked the orange blonde as he went on his way.

The first thing he had went to was a strange house near the commercial part of town. Raising her eyebrows, she spotted Nartuo take out a key, and enter the house. Jumping towards the house's roof, she slid quietly along the wall, and with as little movement as possible, peeked through the glass window.

Inside looked like a lab of some sort. There were vials everywhere, and other strange glassware. Some pots littered around the room, boiling in strange liquids. Naruto was pouring those liquids into small vials, and putting it delicately in one of his bags.

What the hell is going on, Saki wondered. She slipped into the shadows when Naruto exited, and she followed him towards the Hokage's tower. She dared not enter, too many ninja's in a small cramped space, and she dared not give an inclination towards the blonde that she had been following him around. Instead, she just waited, and waited…

"YATA!" Naruto's shout announced his presence after a few minutes, now leaving the Tower. Jumping up and down, he looked towards his frog wallet, and it was filled full with paper bills, some sticking out of the opening. The youngest Uchiha raised her eyebrow, curious how Naruto had gotten that amount of money.

Humming to himself, Naruto continued on his way. Saki sneaked from the rooftops, hiding her presence well enough to study the boy as he went on his day. She witnessed, to her surprise, more of the villagers' coldness… she had logically concluded it was from all the pranks the boy had pulled, though a part of her mind had wondered what kind of prank would induce such level of frostiness.

She had first witnessed it when she asked Naruto around in his old apartment's neighborhood… but seeing it here, a more ninja-intensive part of the village, it was shocking at best.

The blonde boy ignored them, his humming continued, unaware at the fact he was being shadowed by his teammate who he would 'affectionately' call psycho-girl. Spotting a cloth shop, he made his way there, greeting a cold-faced woman, who didn't even pay mind to his salutation.

It didn't bother Naruto much. He was used to it. He only had one friend in the business world, and they provided him with the best food a boy could ask. Instead of dwelling towards their attitude, he just left the woman to her own devices, and made his way towards the woman behind the counter, and told her he was here for his pre-order.

Saki's eyes followed the blonde as he exited the store, with a roll of cotton cloth under his arm, and continued to stalk him as he walked back to the house he entered earlier. Concluding that house was his new home, she put that into her future references.

The blonde hadn't even stayed for a minute before he was out again, and this time, though, walking towards the wooded areas, near the training grounds. Saki had thought the blonde was walking back towards their assigned grounds, she was surprised when Naruto just looked towards her general area, and she ducked, thinking Naruto had spotted her.

It was not the case. Apparently, the blonde was looking everywhere, making sure the area was clear before he moved into the forest. Raising her eyebrows in curiosity, she waited for a few moments before she too made a jump towards the nearest tree.

What are you hiding, Naruto? Saki asked silently, looking for any signs where the blonde had moved. Finding a few disturbances in the area, she began to follow and track her teammate, and spotted his person, apparently harvesting a few herbs.

Before she could even wonder what those were for… Naruto suddenly looked alert.

"Hey! Who's there!?" he demanded. "Come out!"

Saki cursed, and hid her presence more. How the hell did the blonde spot her?

* * *

"Hey! Who's there!? Come out!" Naruto shouted, looking alert. He hadn't felt the presence until he had gathered his third Spinacherb.

There was a slight rustle in the background, and his ears picked it up. Without second-thoughts, he lunged towards it, and tackled the figure spying on him.

"EEP!"

Everything turned dark. Naruto felt nothing but softness and warmth as his vision suddenly faded. He scrambled, trying to free himself… whoever he caught, he was good to trap him!

Hyuuga Hinata's face became flushed as she felt Naruto's hands all over her, his head digging in her stomach, his spiky hair tickling her chest. She didn't know what to do… one moment she had been gathering some Spinacherb for her healing balms, when she spotted her crush. Not wanting to show herself, she hid behind the bushes, where he discovered her, tackled her, and somehow caught his head inside her jacket.

Uchiha Saki looked torn. Her chest suddenly started feeling somewhat funny, seeing the spectacle on the ground. Naruto seemed to be struggling to get inside the poor genin's jacket, and the Hyuuga heiress herself seemed more than accommodating, letting him touch her like that.

She had no idea what to feel at that time… so she settled on anger. Anger at herself for panicking needlessly as she thought the blonde had spotted her... and righteous anger of seeing a boy feel up a girl… yeah, that's it.

Nothing more than righteous anger.

Finally, freed from the tricky trap his enemy just sprung him, Naruto was about to unleash his mad skills (as he described it) when he spotted a pale-eyed kunoichi laying still, her face a-washed in… happiness?

Wait a minute… a girl? Naruto's face flushed as he realized what the soft things he had been touching for a moment, his nose spurting somewhat as his imagination got a bit wild.

"Sorry!" the blonde declared, offering his hand to help the girl up. "Sorry… I thought you sprang a trap or something…"

Hinata took the hand, somewhat disappointed that her touching session (one-sided) with Naruto was cut somewhat short… not that she'd admit it.

Naruto saw her disappointed face, and panicked. Thinking she was deciding whether to hit him or not (a defensive instinctual habit he had developed over wooing Sakura over time) because he did something perverted (accidentally, he'd add), he tried to change the subject, something that would spare him from receiving hits.

"Hey… I know you," the blonde recalled. The pale-eyed genin looked embarrassed for a moment, of not a bit happy.

Naruto-kun remembers me, Hinata was thinking.

"You're that weirdo in the classroom, Hirata… right?"

The Hyuuga heiress stumbled, her face blushed as her heart raced with slight anger and disappointment. It was bad enough to be called a weirdo, but he could have at least gotten her name right… right?

Up in the trees, Saki strained her ears to listen. She couldn't read much of their body language from her distance. She knew of course, like everyone in class who wasn't as dense (mainly that drooling pervert, Kiba and the blonde teammate of hers) that the Hyuuga heiress had a very bad crush on the boy... so bad that she had once fainted in his presence.

"It's… um… H-Hinata…" she stuttered.

"Ah, sorry, Hinata-chan!" Naruto scratched the back part of his head.

The Hyuuga looked a bit satisfied with his apology, anger subsiding from her emotions, though now her shyness began to re-appear. She didn't know what to say... which was fine because the naturally friendly Naruto was there to save this scene from a silent-fest.

"Hey, whatcha doing here?" he asked, smiling.

"Um... I'm... um... g-gathering s-some herbs," she replied, her blush appearing, her fingers twiddling against each other.

"Oh? Cool," Naruto smiled. "I'm doing that too!"

"W-what kinds of h-herbs?"

"Spinacherbs, mostly..."

"R-really?"

"Yeah… making some healing stuff from them."

Hinata's eyes widened. Her hands opened her jacket, somewhat forgetting she's gracing someone's company, but now she found someone who somehow shared her interest... and more importantly, it was her crush (or in Hinata's terms, love of her life or something...). She began to rummage on her jacket's inner pockets, oblivious to the fact that she was giving Naruto something to stare at.

The blonde's blue eyes widened, his cheeks flushing and his nose spurting with more blood as he was blessed with a site he would never have imagined. Hyuuga Hinata... was even bigger than he thought! He knew she had something, especially after accidentally diving inside her jacket (by accident, he'll add again), but he never knew she was that...

Wow. That's all he could think. Wow.

Saki, who had slowly been approaching, found herself angry as the blonde began to ogle at the Hyuuga heiress. It took all her will-power not to send killing intent, though her hand readied at her kunai pouch, almost daring the blonde to do something he might, no, will regret.

Hinata finally found what she was looking for. A small container, filled with green-ish cream. Handing it to Naruto, she shyly twiddled her fingers again, and was about to explain what it was when Naruto suddenly spoke up.

"Oh... wow. Is this a cream made from Spinacherb?"

"Y-yes..." the shy girl replied.

"Did you make it yourself?"

"Y-yes..." the girl repeated.

"That's awesome!" Naruto declared, smiling widely, though he frowned as he noticed the faint smell of the cream. "I mean... it's not as good as the good ol' healing potion, but..."

Hinata's eyes went down. "N-not... good..."

"Hey, hey," Naruto felt guilty. "I didn't mean it that way, Hinata-chan! Look... here!"

Diving his hands towards his pockets, the blonde took out a small vial of blue-ish healing potion, and handed it to her.

"That's my healing potion," the blonde explained. "It has Spinacherb, blue flower petals, and some water."

Hinata's eyes widened. She was no expert when it came to medicine, but because her own cream was very close to the recipe Naruto had just given her, yet the smell of the Spinacherb is stronger, even in liquid form.

"What's the flower petal for?" she asked.

"Um... I think it enhances the innate trait quality of the Spinacherb..." Naruto replied, not really knowing what he just said. The bastard fox said the same thing when Naruto asked what the petal was for when he first started to mass produce healing potions...

If he had asked what the innate trait of Spinacherb was its healing properties, he probably would have gotten it.

Hinata did get it though. The cream was a recipe that her mother had passed down to her before her untimely death. Before she died, her mother had said to the young Hinata that a special friend gave her the recipe, though admitted that it was far from perfect...

However... this potion...

The pale-eyed genin suddenly struck her arm with her fingers, shivering slightly as she felt her attack ruptured some blood vessels as she overloaded them with chakra, took the vial, and opened it. She took a slight sip and was surprised suddenly when the wound stopped throbbing.

This potion... Hinata's eyes widened. It could even heal Jyuuken strikes? Not even her cream, even in a drinkable stage could do that! Naruto had perfected the recipe that her mother had given her... how!?

Naruto, lost as he didn't know anything about Jyuuken attacks, just translated her awe as unbelievable praise. His cheeks reddened not because of something perverted but because he felt very happy being given a compliment, no matter how wordless it was. He scratched the back part of his head with a wide smile.

"N-Naruto-kun... this... this potion is... g-great!" Hinata declared.

"Of course it is!" Naruto pointed at himself. "I'm the great Uzumaki Naruto, kick ass alchemist and future Hokage!"

There was one word that caught her ears. "Alchemist...?"

"Oh... yeah," Naruto smiled, feeling even prouder. "My mom was one... found out the day I graduated when I... uh..."

The story of him stopping Mizuki had been sealed off records, the Hokage had told him the morning after he was given his forehead protector. The old man asked him not to brag about it, as it could spell trouble for the blonde boy... he did steal the scroll, even if he was coerced into doing so, and Naruto promised he wouldn't...

Then, he opens his big mouth and almost declared it to the world (well, a girl)… but fortunately for him, Hinata was more interested in Naruto's lineage.

"Y-your m-mother was an a-alchemist?" the Hyuuga asked.

"Uh-huh," the blonde nodded. "One of the best, I heard."

So that explained it, Hinata thought. Alchemy... a very shrouded science according to the Academy, but pretty much well-known, though forbidden to be spoken aloud, in the Hyuuga clan. It dated back in the creation of the clan, Alchemy and Mana had been an instrumental part of giving the Hyuuga's their bloodline, which in turn they would perfect over generations. Not much was known about the specifics of it, as the scrolls were forbidden to be opened, sealed in a hidden location that only the Clan Head would know.

Hinata's mother was very interested in alchemy, and being the wife of the Hyuuga Clan Head made the information accessible to her. The potential to create life saving medicines cheaply and quickly was one of her passions as a medic-nin.

She discovered the healing properties of Spinacherb through experimentation, when the herb was just used as a cheap vegetable for meals, and with her friend, made a recipe that would be used as an analgesic that would coat the wound, enhancing the body's natural healing abilities.

Her mother had told her many stories about alchemists, and there was a time when Hinata too dreamed of becoming one.

"N-Narutko-kun..." Hinata looked at the blonde with a smile. "T-that's great! I-I'm sure you'll m-make a w-wonderful alchemist..."

"Nehe..." Naruto scratched the back part of his head shyly. Too many praises for one day, he decided. "I guess... I'm on my way though. I made a pact with tw..." he paused. Kyuubi was still a secret he'd want to keep. "I mean, I made a pact with a Wind Mana already!"

Hinata blinked.

"Wanna see her?" the blonde asked, grinning at the girl's surprised look.

"… u-um… s-sure…"

* * *

Later on, Hinata and Naruto had reached the clearing. The girl noticed two more Naruto's resting under the tree and she spotted their shadows, prompting her to wonder where the blonde had learned Kage Bunshin (she assumed it was), while a beautiful woman with wings on her hips looked at the blonde leading Hinata with a hint of annoyance.

"Naruto… you ought to be more modest," Gwendolyn sighed. "Talking about your abilities, or even about your lineage so easily could be your downfall."

"Eh, Gwendolyn-chan…"

"Sensei!"

"I mean, sensei, she's Hinata, my classmate!" Naruto declared. "She's pretty cool too… she's doing some synthesis as well, showed me her cream, which was pretty cool considering it didn't use the recipe I had…"

"Even so…"

Hinata was lost in the argument, wondering for a moment who the beautiful woman was. For a wild moment, she imagined the woman to be Naruto's lover, and she slowly felt her chances with her crush (in Hinata's terms, Love of her Life) lower, but when the blonde called the woman sensei, she recovered (if somewhat).

"U-um… I… I'm s-sorry for i-intruding!" Hinata declared as the two began to argue a bit. She bowed her head. "I d-don't want to cause trouble to N-Naruto-kun! So… please…"

Gwendolyn and Naruto stopped on their tracks, with the Wind Mana looking at the girl with surprise. She suddenly smiled, thinking the girl carried herself well.

"Don't fret much, child," Gwendolyn declared, looking serene. Her aura had a rather calming effect on Hinata. "I am Gwendolyn Silverlance… Wind Mana."

"U-um… H-Hyuuga Hinata," the kunoichi introduced herself with a respective bow.

And she has manners too! Looks like Gwendolyn found someone she could set Naruto up with…

"Please take care of my partner," the Wind Mana. "I know he's rather a handful…"

"Hey!" the three Naruto's complained, making Hinata giggle.

"… but he's a kind young man," Gwendolyn finished.

"I… I will t-try…" Hinata smiled happily. "It's a p-pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure is mine," the Wind Mana declared, with a small smile.

Suddenly, there was a small blip of energy, making both Gwendolyn and Hinata look towards a distance. The Narutos followed, not really knowing what the two had felt, looked at the direction where the two were looking.

There was nothing but leaves.

After a few minutes, the two females were satisfied, and the Wind Mana looked at the Hyuuga heiress expectantly…

"So, Hinata-san… please, tell me about yourself."

* * *

Uchiha Saki locked the door of her apartment, and immediately went towards one of the hidden compartments, thinking how close she was on being spotted by the Hyuuga Heiress and that weird winged woman. The youngest Uchiha had approached them dangerously close to gain more info about Naruto… and it paid off.

So… Uzumaki Naruto was a bloodline Alchemist. That explained almost everything she had found odd with the blonde… from his introduction about wanting to continue a legacy, synthesizing things, the weird glass materials in his new lodgings… and even his weird weapons.

Unrolling the scrolls, Saki began to scan the writings, and began to fold when the writing began to detail Alchemy, Manas, and more importantly, their connection towards the Sharingan.

Her blonde teammate wouldn't know, but his importance has now increased. Her mind began to work, filtering all the information she had just gotten earlier, and the information she had in the Uchiha scrolls.

She could use him… with the amount of potential power the boy had…

Yes. She would definitely use him.

* * *

**Omake! **

_**Damn it… **_

Gwendolyn and Hinata began to get more and more friendly with each other, their talk lasting more than ten minutes. The Narutos just grouped together, and after a few minutes of silence, Kyuubi was beginning to curse.

_**Fucking stupid.**_

_**Shitty month. **_

_**Stupid chapter. **_

_What the hell are you going about, ya bastard? _Naruto asked, getting tired of hearing random sentences pop on his head.

_**It's this damn chapter! I didn't have much lines! Gwendolyn stole my spotlight, she has more lines than met even! **_

Poor Naruto was confused.

_I don't wanna know… _

_**That's because you're a moron. **_

_Screw you, bastard! _

_**Hah! Bet you would… gay moron. **_

_I'm not falling for that. _

_**Coward. **_

_Caged fox. _

_**Born idiot. **_

_Defeated by a mere human._

_**Suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder.**_

…

_**HAH! I win! **_

_I don't even know what that meant!_

And the day went on.

* * *

_Author's Notes: _

_It seems lots of AI2 fans… that's great! _

_Alright, I want to clear this up. I will not follow AI2 storyline, though I have some inkling about it (Wikipedia). Yes, I appreciate the help, but for me to really put in the stuff on AI2 means I would need to play the game. I don't wanna half-ass it. Maybe in the future, when I secure my own copy and play it, will I include its aspects. _

_I appreciate all your reviews, especially the constructive ones. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well. _

_Next, we move on the Land of the Waves arc. I guess my next question would be… would Haku be a girl? xD _

_Later. _


	7. Chapter 7

It's been a grueling month, Naruto recalled. He had now worked on all the intermediate forms that the Kyuubi and Gwendolyn had hammered into him, and thanks to Hinata, he had some adequate combat experience using them.

It was really strange. Gwendolyn had taken to a real liking to the girl and asked her if she would want to join them in their training. She said no at first, but she returned the next day, if only to watch and gather materials. The next day, she would do the same thing, and it wasn't until the third day did the Wind Mana ask again, and encouraged the girl to join.

She finally said yes.

"Ramen Boy, this is Leader, the target is coming to you... are you ready?"

Naruto's mind was still on the Hyuuga heiress, so deeply that he couldn't find the capacity to listen. His thoughts revolved on how she was, well, pretty weird at first. Her face would flush something crimson, and most of the time, when she trained, she always seemed so crestfallen. Gwendolyn then suggested a spar with Naruto, Hinata looked like she would faint by that suggestion.

"Ramen Boy... can you hear me?"

The Hyuuga heiress seemed really weak at first, but after more urging by the Wind Mana, she just suddenly started pulling moves out of thin air... and the blonde alchemist appreciated the effort very much as the spar began to poke holes in his form, and ultimately making him stride to make them better...

"Hello... Ramen Boy..."

Still... she was weird. Fainting, her face flushing like she had an all-dayy fever... you'd think that...

"OI! NARUTO-BAKA! WAKE UP AND GET WITH THE PROGRAM!"

Naruto woke up from his daydreaming, feeling somewhat deaf. He wasn't the only one... somewhere, Hatake Kakashi had been rubbing his ear after taking out the transceiver, while Uchiha Saki almost fell down on the tree, clutching her head.

"Oh... um... Ramen Boy here... sorry, what's up?" the blonde had called, finally recovering.

"You idiot! The target's going towards you!"

"Huh... what target..."

It wasn't long before a fearsome chibi suddenly lunged at him, hissing.

* * *

Naruto looked like he was ready to kill someone. On his face, he bled in places where the cat that lunged at him earlier. The monster just kept scratching and scratching, ruining his perfectly manly looks (or so he thinks), while Kakashi and psycho-girl just snorted with laughter after catching up with him.

Sakura looked pretty pleased, making the face which easily read, 'Serves you right'.

"That's what you get for being distracted, idiot!" the pink-haired kunoichi declared.

Naruto looked crestfallen. His crush, disappointed in him? He wouldn't be able to bear the failure!

On his shoulder, Gwendolyn sighed, wanting to see that Hinata girl again. She was this close to setting them up... and when her partner finally sees the beauty of the well-mannered, if not very shy and introverted Hyuuga, Naruto wouldn't even give this brute of a pink hair a moment of his time.

"Why were you day-dreaming, Naruto?" Kakashi had to ask, curious.

"He was probably thinking about his girlfriend," Saki teased, remembering last week's surveillance of the blonde, where he met the Hyuuga heiress.

Kakashi's visible eyebrow lifted. Saki had changed somewhat for the past week, though it was too subtle for the other two genins to notice. The surviving Uchiha had been treating the blonde somewhat more nicely than before... though, as he scratched his head, he wondered if it was a good thing, or a bad thing.

"Girlfriend?" Sakura scoffed.

Naruto's eyes widened as if he was scandalized. That Uchiha was trying to sabotage him in Sakura's eyes!

"Shut it you psycho gir-"

Naruto stopped the moment he felt her killing intent suddenly wash over him. Her eyes promised death if he ever dared complete the sentence… the blonde could only swallow.

"Er… I mean… you bastard!" the blonde corrected himself quickly. He felt somewhat relieved when the killing intent vanished. "How dare you suggest I'm not loyal to Saku-"

He didn't finish his sentence as he was hit on top of his head by his crush.

"Don't call Sasuke-kun that!" Sakura declared. "Besides, he was right. Who'd even be interested in you?"

Naruto rubbed his head, going quiet all of the sudden. That hurt… even from Sakura-chan, he thought, pained. Even Kakashi and Saki winced somewhat, knowing the double-whammy of her verbal attack. It was bad enough to state she wasn't interested in him, but to say no one else is?

"Maa… that was too much, Sakura," Kakashi declared, his whisper cutting through the silence effectively.

"Hn…" Saki muttered, still in her Sasuke character mode, though agreed. She could have put it more mildly. Besides, the pink-haired kunoichi was wrong anyway… Hyuuga Hinata is still very much interested in the blonde… not that the ignoramus knew.

A tense moment of silence passed once more. Sakura didn't seem to even respond to what Kakashi had said, though she did lower her head somewhat. Naruto just shut down, making the jounin file away on his mind that this is the first day his whole team went weird… and frankly, he wasn't good at being empathetic.

So, he did the next best thing.

"Who wants a new D-Rank mission?" he asked.

His genin groaned…

"Eh, come on Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto burst out, he the one looking the most annoyed. "I want a C-Rank! C-Rank!"

The jounin had a victory smile. Just one sentence, he had his team back… maybe. As its stated earlier, Kakashi isn't what people would describe as empathetic.

* * *

At the Hokage Tower, Team Seven returned the cat towards the 'pleasantly' plump woman, who without a second thought, began to crush the cat with her huge arms in a what Naruto could describe as a bear-hug, and rubbed her oversized cheeks on the cat's face.

Sakura felt somewhat sorry for the cat, though Naruto cackled silently as he saw Justice was served.

After that, the three awaited patiently with bated breathe as the Hokage would reveal their new (and hopefully, C-Rank) missions…

"Hmmm…" the Third Hokage looked towards his list. "Job well done, Team Seven. Now, your next assignment is baby-sitting an elder's grandson…"

Naruto suddenly deflated, with Sakura groaning. Saki's eyes developed a twitch, but those actions were ignored as the Hokage continued reading the list…

"… shopping in the neighboring village, help with the potato digging, cleaning kennels…"

"No!"

The Hokage, Saki, Sakura, Kakashi, and Iruka (who was helping the Hokage with the scroll missions) looked at the blonde who crossed his arms across his chest, making a big X as he shook his head.

"No! No! And absolutely no!" Naruto declared. "I want to do… you know… a cool mission! Give us a better one!"

"Naruto…" Iruka's eyes twitched. "You're just a rookie. Everyone starts out with duties like this."

"But we just keep getting the crappiest missions!" Naruto declared, looking incensed. "I mean… how many times do we need to clean a damn kennel!? Last time we did that was not even three days ago! What the hell!?"

"Be quiet," Kakashi declared, gently punching the blonde's head from above, quieting Naruto.

The Third Hokage smiled, having expected the blonde's reaction; something would have been up if he hadn't. The old man had been tempted to go to his lecture mode, talk about the importance of ranks in missions and how they affect the ranks of all ninjas in the country, but then, decided against it.

Besides... he had a feeling Naruto wouldn't even listen to him.

Instead, he decided he'd give Team Seven a break. He'd heard some good things from Kakashi's reports... apparently, the Teamwork Exercises seemed to work. The Haruno girl had apparently been more supportive, the last Uchiha seemed to be making an effort of befriending her teammates, and the blonde was… well more mature.

What the jounin didn't state though was the only person Sakura had been supportive of was Saki. The only person Saki had been making an effort on in return was actually Naruto, and even then, Kakashi wondered if it was some sort of ploy as she only began to act like this a week ago. Lastly, the only thing Naruto matured into was not doing pranks…

Of course, what the Hokage wouldn't know, wouldn't hurt, Kakashi thought.

"Alright… I got a C-Rank mission for you…" the Hokage suddenly declared.

There was utter silence… well, other than the noises of chuunins working. Team Seven and Iruka though were stunned silent, all of them looking at the scroll. The first person to react was the blonde alchemist, who jumped in the air, whooping as loud as he could.

"YES!" Naruto shouted. "C-Rank! C-Rank! C-Rank!"

"Be quiet Naruto!" Sakura declared, though she looked rather pensive.

Saki had no words to say, but her grin became a bit more pronounced. Finally, she thought, feeling excited for a mission for the first time since her first day as a genin.

"So, what's it gonna be?" Naruto asked. "Finding a run-away gambling princess? Escorting an actress? Hunt an organized criminal organization filled with missing-nins?"

"Honestly, Naruto… you make me wonder where you get that imagination of yours," Sakura declared.

"You'll see, Sakura-chan! I'll do those missions!"

The Hokage chuckled.

"Yes… well, as good as all that sounds, your first C-Rank mission is escorting a bridge builder back to a quaint country…" the old man declared, smiling when he saw the blonde's reaction.

Naruto sagged somewhat, feeling put-off by the job… but then, he shrugged, thinking it was infinitely better than cleaning the kennels again.

"So… who are we protecting?" the blonde asked.

Naruto didn't have to answer. Behind them, the doors opened, revealing an old drunk, looking at Team Seven with doubt and disrespect. He huffed somewhat, and began to drink sake from the bottle he was holding.

"This… are the buncha brats that gunna protect me? They look so stupid… especially the blondie…"

Naruto looked somewhat stunned.

"I'll… kill you!"

Saki sighed as she watched her blonde teammate, grabbed by the back part of his jacket collar by Kakashi, trying to stab their client with his kunai.

Then again… maybe cleaning the kennels would be better.

* * *

About a few minutes later, at another Training Area, Team Eight have just finished up another D-Rank Mission easily. No, it wasn't because they enjoyed it, no Rookie Team did, but unlike Team Seven, Team Eight had a much higher capacity for Teamwork.

Inuzuka Kiba was loud and boisterous, but quite loyal; after all, that was the primary philosophical teachings of the Inuzuka Clan. Hyuuga Hinata was shy and quiet, malleable, which could be a good and bad thing depending on the situation, but at least she wasn't as arrogant as the majority of her clan. Aburame Shino was the thinker, and although quiet, like the other two members of the team, he, like them, was loyal.

Yuuhi Kurenai was proud to be their sensei. As Konoha would teach, the worth of any team is not the abilities of their members, but how cohesive they were when working together, and they pretty much embodied that philosophy.

Still, it would help if she could further hammer out weaknesses individually, she'd have the perfect team. Hence the reason why she was very pleased with the sparring match today.

"Very good, Hinata-chan," the jounin declared as the Hyuuga heiress seemed to dodge Kiba's fast attacks with slight ease. "Kiba… you're not holding back are you?"

The Inuzuka boy growled in response, though he had that smile on his face. He was competitive, but he was also happy that his usually meek teammate was fighting with her all… but even then, he thought as he extended his leg and tripped her, he still was the better fighter.

"Alright, stop!" Kurenai declared as Hinata fell face-first towards the ground, though she had saved herself by rolling forward.

"You okay, Hinata?" Kiba asked, looking towards the girl, concerned that he might have taken it a bit too far, but was relieved when the stumble was anything but serious.

"Yeah…" the Hyuuga heiress nodded as she went to her knees, smiling. "Sorry… um… I… overextended…"

"Yes, and its good to know your mistake. Try not to repeat it next time," the jounin helped her up. "Alright… Kiba, you and Shino shall spar next… unless you're tired."

"Hell no!" Kiba pumped his arms. "Ready to go whenever you say sensei."

"I think our sensei appreciates a male of her age, Kiba…" Shino, who was just a few steps away, spoke in his usually quiet and steady tone.

"Shut up!" Kiba muttered, his cheeks somewhat aflame. No one would ever live it down the fact that he sported a small crush on his beautiful sensei… even his own family would tease him about it.

While Shino initiated the spar, no malice was felt as the blows were exchanged. Kurenai and Hinata looked as the two boys went for it, Shino dodging as Kiba kept attacking, though both knew how it would end. Shino specialized more on his family techniques and the kikai bugs, but in a taijutus match, he was barred from using them while Kiba, who's taijutsu form, while not as refined as Hinata's, was still fast and hard-hitting enough to push Shino back.

Hinata concentrated on the two before she suddenly felt a presence coming to them. Activating her bloodline, she spotted someone familiar coming at them at high speeds.

Akamaru barked, having detected a scent in the wind. Kiba and Shino stopped for a moment, while Kurenai signaled them with her fingers to be ready for anything…

Hinata smiled as she realized who their intruder was… and soon, before anyone could say anything, something orange whooped from the trees and landed on all fours in front of Team Eight.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata greeted.

"Hey, Hinata-chan!" the blonde genin called, waving at them. He spotted Kiba and Shino looking at him, and waved at them too. "Yo! Kiba! Shino!"

"Hah! Its dead-last!" Kiba declared, earning a scowl from Naruto, and unknown to him, Hinata as well.

"Shut it, dog breathe!" Naruto replied, looking angry.

"What you call me!?"

"I said your breathe stinks, you mangy mutt!"

"Come here and get your ass kicked!"

"I'll kick your ass first you-"

"Stop, both of you!" Kurenai suddenly declared, stepping between the two genins. "May I help you, Uzumaki-san?"

Naruto looked towards the beautiful woman, suddenly feeling somewhat shy. She was… pretty. It made him wonder if every girl he is destined to meet would be beautiful…

_**Why not imagine her naked as well? It wouldn't be the first time. **_

_Oh shut it. I'm no pervert! _

_**Please. You do not want me to tell you all the perverted acts you did.**__**Remember the Uchiha? **_

Oh yes, Naruto remembered. His nose did too, as blood slowly poured out of his nostril, something Kurenai and Hinata noticed.

"Are you okay?" the jounin asked, looking somewhat concerned. Bleeding through the nose meant an injury of some sort… of course, it also meant something else, but being a sensible woman, Kurenai gave the young boy the benefit of the doubt.

Besides… he was far too young... right?

"Um… yeah… but who are you?" the blonde genin asked. He had seen the woman once, in the academy when she picked up Team Eight, but forgot her name.

"Yuuhi Kurenai, jounin-sensei of Team Eight," the woman stated with a slight smile.

"Nice to meet ya," Naruto nodded, though he scratched the back part of his head. "Anyways, I wanted to talk to Hinata-chan."

"Whatcha want with Hinata?" Kiba demanded, only to be admonished by Kurenai, who told him to continue sparring with Shino.

"What is it, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"Um… I prolly won't be training with you for a while…"

The Hyuuga looked surprised and saddened by the news. For one wild moment, she imagined her father had found out about their training sessions, and forced the boy not to associate with her or something.

"Wh… why, Naruto-kun?"

"Well… my team got our first C-Rank mission!" Naruto declared happily, earning a surprised yelp from the Inuzuka boy.

"Say what!? I want one of-" and he didn't finish his complaint as Shino landed a clean punch to his gut. "HEY! Damn it, Shino! I was distracted!"

"So?" the Aburame asked back, switching back to his taijutsu stance.

"Good hit, Shino," Kurenai complimented. She looked towards Kiba, and stated, "Concentrate, Kiba. I haven't ordered any of you to stop sparring yet."

Ignoring the scene happening in the background, Hinata and Naruto continued to converse, the blonde excitedly telling her the mission details.

"We're going to go to this country called Wave or something… accompanying this old drunkard. The bastard was calling stupid, could you believe that? I was about to stab him in the leg, but Kakashi-sensei said something about not hurting the clients… it's a load of tush, really…"

Hinata giggled quietly, but said nothing as Naruto continued to rant about the old man (whose name was Tazuna) and how they were supposed to escort him so he could build his bridge…

"I bet the whole bridge is made of straw or something… I mean… he's a drunkard!" Naruto paused, and looked towards his friend . "Anyways… yeah, so that's why I'm not gonna be around for a few days… so… sorry."

"Oh… I d-don't mind N-Naruto-kun," Hinata replied, smiling. At least it wasn't permanent, she thought.

Kurenai, who had been listening to the conversation while, looked towards the blonde with somewhat concerned eyes. "Uzumaki-san…"

"Um… yes?"

"Be careful," she replied, seriously. "It may be a C-Rank mission, but if you're not prepared, you could get yourself and your team injured."

"Of course!" Naruto declared, somewhat annoyed by the jounin seemingly insinuate that he was going to bring his team down. "If anyone gets hurt, I'll give them my special healing potion! If any bad guy comes, I'm gonna throw as many bombs at them as possible!"

Hinata swooned slightly but then remembered something as he mentioned the healing potion. Searching her inner jacket pockets, she extracted one jar of her newly made batch of healing cream, and handed it to Naruto. The blonde received it, and looked at it, his face expressing approval. He opened the jar, took a small whiff of it, and looked at Hinata with a wide smile.

"This is great!" he stated.

"Um… n-no… not r-really…"

"What, you kidding me? This is like… a thousand times better than what you showed me last week!" Naruto declared, a total exaggeration, but Gwendolyn, who was sitting on Naruto's shoulder, giggled at the expression.

"Um… t-thanks… Naruto-kun…" the pale-eyed genin blushed. "T-The cream isn't a-as good as y-your potion, of c-course… I hit the l-limit for the d-distillation process…"

"Distillation…?"

Hinata began to explain the process, in which Naruto immediately recognized the process he used at times as he was, as of now, quite experienced at synthesizing products. Suddenly, Kurenai realized, as she had continued to listen to them, the whole conversation suddenly became somewhat technical, something she hadn't expected because of Naruto's records in the academy.

"So… you cannot get any purer concentration of the blue petal?" Naruto asked.

"W-well… I first tried to h-heat it in flame… but… the p-proteins denatured before I could even get a-anything useful…" Hinata replied.

"Hmmm… wonder what you can do to improve the process…" the blonde muttered silently. He felt a slight movement on his shoulder, and he saw Gwendolyn climbing over his side, and whispering something to his ears.

Naruto looked towards Hinata, and frowned.

"Um… Gwendolyn-chan says you may have reached your limit with the processing bit and the only way you can continually refine it takes outside forces… like Mana for instance."

The jounin blinked. Who was Gwendolyn? Or Mana?

"Oh…" Hinata looked somewhat crestfallen.

"I think it's a bunch of bull, though," Naruto declared, handing the jar back to Hinata. "You made it this far, didn't you? If you want… take it further! This was the best cream you ever made… I'm sure you can still improve. If not… then we'll work together to improve it!"

Hinata looked at Naruto, smiling somewhat, and nodded. "Promise?" she asked.

"Promise!" the blonde declared. "Anyways… continue practice! I won't stop training, so we can have a great spar when I return! Believe it!"

The Hyuuga returned with a stronger nod, and waved as the boy retreated, waving back at her. Behind her, Kurenai looked somewhat pleased, guessing the reason why Hinata had been showing steady improvement for the past week. She said nothing, only wishing her student would improve with her newfound friendship with the blonde alchemist.

"I yield," Shino declared as he found himself cornered.

"Alright! I win!" Kiba yelled and he looked around, about to have another go at the blonde dead last when he noticed he wasn't there. "Hey… where'd the idiot go?"

* * *

The next day, Naruto rigged a few belts tightly as he wore, for the first time, his new clothing. It was something he and Kyuubi had come up with, wasting many days debating the design, function, and most importantly, color scheme of his clothes, before they both finally settled on the newly finished product.

Bi-weaved with cotton and a special liquid metal (which Naruto found was the hardest item he had ever made), his new clothes were, as the Fox Mana said, stylish, had pop, and dignity.

His pants were dark blue, reinforced in the knee area for joint protection, loose enough to move around freely, yet tight enough to not snag on anything. His undershirt was black, with a small orange spiral design in the middle, and on top of that was his new jacket… a dark orange trench coat.

The coat was not pure orange though, as it was highlighted by darker colors, giving it a more formal look. He looked at his sleeves, and spotted a few Storage Seals. Gwendolyn helped design them, applying it on certain parts of his new clothes so he wouldn't limit himself of storing alchemic materials because he lacked pockets.

To finish the look off, he wore lightweight black shoes.

"Wow… Naruto, you look great!" Gwendolyn, in her full human form, watched as the boy began to adjust the belts, and gave the boy two thumbs up.

"Yeah… turned out great," Naruto declared with a wide smile. He wasn't normally an arrogant guy (just loud), but he had to say… he looked rather good.

_**Hmph, told you it would turn out perfect. **_

_Yeah, yeah… _

There was a slight pause.

_Thanks… _

_**Just don't embarrass yourself, and in turn, embarrass me. **_

_Screw you, bastard fox… _

The last reply wasn't exactly a jibe of anger, nor was Naruto trying to insult the fox. He looked at the mirror again one last time, before he decided that, as much as it pained him to say this, his new threads were overwhelmingly better than his old ones.

"I'll make a few more pairs when I return," Naruto decided.

"Try different colors," the Wind Mana suggested.

"No way. Orange's is the best!"

Gwendolyn sighed, but didn't say anymore as she shrunk once more, and sat on his shoulders. Naruto grabbed all the bombs and potions he had been preparing last night, and speedily set off towards the south entrance of the village, where his team would meet to start their first C-Rank mission.

Arriving there, he received the oddest stare he ever gotten from Sakura. On regular days, it would be a look of dismissal, annoyance, anger, and rare love-struck gaze on one occasion (actually… Saki was behind Naruto at that particular point, but of course, the blonde didn't know)… but her gaze…

It wasn't love-struck, but a blank gaze, seemingly like her whole brain seemed to shut down. Her mouth seemed to be trying to figure out whether to drop its jaw, mope like a goldfish, or shut itself to save dignity. The only words she could come out with was an incomplete 'What'.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted, ignoring the pink-haired genin acting weird.

"Na… Na… Na…"

"Hmph… trying to dress to impress?" a voice called in from behind the blonde, making him turn around, and revealing the youngest Uchiha.

"What is it to you?" Naruto muttered cautiously.

"Nothing…" Saki replied, slowly settling herself away from the two genins, and leaned down on a wall. "Just wanted to say looks better than your usual outfit."

Sakura finally found her brain, and nodded in agreement to her crush.

"Yeah, Naruto, what's up with that?" she asked, looking at Naruto from head to toe.

"Someone apparently told me I need to carry myself with dignity…" the blonde declared, thinking of Kyuubi, who felt proud as he was being credited for something… fashionable.

"Oh… Kakashi-sensei got through with you, eh?"

Naruto snickered as he felt Kyuubi inside of him fall on his face.

_**Kill her! I will not let some scarecrow lazy no-good one-eyed lanky looking jounin take credit for my design!**_

_Whatever. Weeks ago, you were praising him for poking my ass and now you're aggravating yourself to insult him. _

_**And you're too thick-headed and distracted because the Pinky gave you a compliment. **_

_She… waitaminute… she did! Sakura-chan complimented me! Sakura-chan complimented me!_

_**Oh Ancients… should have kept my mouth shut. **_

"Not really, but I'm glad you think it looks good, Sakura-chan…" Naruto smiled.

"You're not as good-looking as Sasuke-kun though!" Sakura declared, looking towards Saki with hearts in her eyes… the youngest Uchiha looked towards the other direction, not wanting to have anything to do with pink-haired genin.

Naruto's head went down, his minute of euphoria gone, brutally smothered out by Sakura's words.

Before anyone else could say anything, a loud 'Yo!' was heard, and the three genin looked surprised as Kakashi, along with their new client, who looked slightly less drunk than yesterday.

"What?" the silver-haired man asked after a few seconds seeing with that shocked expression on their face.

"Who are you and what have you done to Kakashi-sense!?" Naruto spoke up first, earning a sweat-drop on both the jounin and their client. What made the statement worse was the fact Sakura had been nodding, and the young Uchiha looked ready to grab out her weapons.

"What? I can be early at times…"

"LIAR!" Naruto and Sakura accused.

"Anyway… since we're all here, we can finally start our first C-Rank mission," Kakashi declared, his visible eye smiling. "Are you all rea…"

He stopped, something catching his eye, which immediately fell towards Naruto. The blonde took a step back as the jounin's face went serious, his hand slowly stroking the tip of his chin.

"Something's different about you, Naruto," Kakashi stated.

"Yup, yup!" the blonde replied enthusiastically.

"You cut your hair, didn't you?"

There was a slight sound of air punched out of a narrow space. Naruto blinked slightly, his enthusiasm fading as he looked at his teacher oddly.

"… No," he replied.

"Ate more vegetables?" the jounin asked again.

"… That doesn't even make sense."

"Ah! I know! You got a girlfriend!"

"… let's just go…" the blonde finally muttered, turning his back on his teacher, and walked towards the gate. The jounin suddenly punched the open palm of his hand with the bottom of his closed fist.

"Oh… new clothes. Didn't notice that."

Tazuna, Sakura and Saki just looked at the adult oddly, before joining Naruto, leaving Kakashi behind, who was smiling beneath his mask.

He still had it, he thought happily.

* * *

"W-oooow…" Naruto declared, looking at his surroundings. Currently, his team and their new client were on the road to Wave Country, and they have finally left the heavily forested parts of the Hidden Leaf Village to a more modestly wooded area towards the borders.

It wasn't that he hadn't liked the Village surroundings, but it did get boring after a good while. The only other place he had visited was a bit too unnatural for his taste.

Imagine a place filled with crystals everywhere. It was as plain as it was boring.

"Why are you excited brat?" the old man asked, taking a sip from his newly opened liquor bottle. "Haven't been out of your village?"

"I have, once… it's called Wind Alley or something," Naruto replied, shrugging. "It's boring… nothing but crystal stuff."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow on that. "You mean… Wind Corridor… right?" he asked.

"Yeah! That's what old man Hokage said!" the blonde replied.

"Don't disrespect the Hokage, idiot!" Sakura declared.

"Eh, he doesn't mind, Sakura-chan," Naruto stated easily. "I've been calling him that for years!"

"You're lucky he lets you," Saki muttered.

"What were you doing there anyway?" Kakashi asked, trying to steer the conversation back to his subject.

"Well…" Naruto was about to explain when he saw Gwendolyn flying in front of him, shaking her head. Nodding, the blonde replied, "I went there to gather materials."

It wasn't the whole truth, but a truth nonetheless. The materials that remained of the Puni that he had slain were very interesting to say the least, and had a rather enhancing effect on medicines. He began using them in small amounts in all his recovery materials, mixing them with the water he used.

"Ah…" Kakashi said, looking satisfied with the answer. His lazy eye roamed around until he spotted something ahead of the road…

A small puddle.

Two other beings noticed something as well.

_**Naruto… be ready. **_

_Why? What's wrong? _

_**Not telling. **_

Naruto blinked.

_Why the hell not!? _

_**Consider it training. Don't let me down.**_

And then, there was silence. Naruto tried to mentally curse the fox, but he found no reply so instead, he tapped his shoulder gently, calling the attention of Gwendolyn, who looked alert.

"Hey…" he whispered. "Is there anything wrong?"

"Oh… you noticed?" the Wind Mana on his shoulder replied.

"Um… kinda… what is it?" the blonde asked.

"You'll see…"

"I'll see… what?"

"Heh… consider it training."

Naruto frowned. What was it with Mana and cryptic responses? He looked in front of him to see his two teammates and their client. They must have passed him when he was musing. He was about to go ranting with Gwendolyn when he noticed a slight change in the wind. He turned his head to look back, and his eyes widened.

There were two black figures in the air, a chain linking them, as they dove towards Kakashi.

"SENSEI!" Naruto shouted, but it was far too late. The chain had wrapped around the surprised looking jounin.

"One down…" one of the men whispered, with frigidity that Naruto shivered slightly as the wind carried his words to his ears. Then, the two figures pulled on the chains that were linked through their clawed gauntlets, cutting Kakashi in pieces.

There was a shout. It was Sakura, who witnessed the death of their sensei. Saki's expression turned dark, and grabbed her kunai out, and dashed towards her blonde teammate, who she guessed would most likely become the next target.

She was right.

"Two down…" the other man in black whispered, dashing towards Naruto.

"Naruto!" Gwendolyn shouted.

"I know!" the blonde declared, and extracted a spear from thin-air, making the two attacking figures blink in surprise. What was more surprising was the fact Naruto had blocked the initial attack by swinging side-ways. A wind followed up with his slash, strong enough to push away his attackers.

That's what Saki needed. With pin point accuracy, she threw a throwing star towards their chain as they flew away from Naruto, pinning it on a tree, and to reinforce it, she threw her kunai, which lodged itself in the middle of the throwing star's hole, and towards the tree trunk.

Having seen his teammate pin down the two attackers, Naruto's hand went towards one of the storage seals in his sleeve, and drew out a rod. Raising her eyebrows, the young Uchiha wondered what it was as she witnessed the blonde throw it towards where the chains were pinned, and her eyes widened as the small rod began to discharge electricity.

The two black figures growled in pain. Still linked by the chain, the electrical pulses were cruising in their system, and they both decided, smartly, to lose their new liability. There was a sound of clicking metal, and the chain was released from their gauntlets. One of the figures attacked Saki, while the other went for the blonde.

For a moment, Saki smirked as she entered battle with a strong opponent, and moved as her training told her to. Using small movements, she dodged the claw the man was using to attack her cleanly, and counter-attacked when she found an opening, only to get blocked, and pushed away.

On her way to continue on offensive, she was surprised when her opponent suddenly slipped past her, and ran towards Sakura and Tazuna. The pink-haired kunoichi readied her kunai, and tried to block the man from reaching the old man.

Saki dashed, hoping to make it on time.

Meanwhile, Naruto went through the katas as he had practiced, his spear now shortened, he parried the man's claw with ease, but moved towards the defensive. While the shortened spear lacked reach, it made up with mobility, plus the fact that the attacker's claw lacked reach, the older man was still experienced enough to gain advantage against the shorter blonde, using heavy yet fast attacks to press against Naruto.

Finally, an attack came through. The claw slashed towards Naruto's face, who, with instinct, elongated the spear to block the attack, but the force was strong enough to push him away. Naruto's response was his hand towards the seal on his sleeve, and brought out an ice bomb, and threw it towards the man, who blocked it with his claw.

The result was instantaneous. The claw was encased in a solid block of ice.

Naruto was about to charge in, his hand going for his deck of cards when a hand suddenly chopped his enemy's neck, knocking him out unconscious.

"Good work, Naruto… Sasuke, and Sakura," Kakashi declared, appearing relatively unharmed. Under his shoulder, the other man in black, who had been fighting with Saki, laid there, unconscious.

"Sensei!" the blonde declared. Trying to make sense of things, Naruto looked towards the area where Kakashi had been cut to pieces, and all he saw were cut pieces of a log.

"Sneaky…" the blonde whispered, and stole a glance towards his teammates. Sakura looked very relieved, while Saki had a somewhat sour look on her face.

"Show-off…" she muttered, almost inaudibly, but the wind carried it to his ears.

Saki found herself staring at Naruto, who began to chuckle uncontrollably.

Kakashi then began to tie the two unconscious men to a tree, giving the genins and Tazuna a clearer look at their enemy. They looked dangerous, with a gas mask, their forehead protectors indicating they came from another village.

"These are Mist-nins. Chuunins, from their skills," Kakashi stated, studying them. He looked towards his genin team with smiling eyes. "They are known to continue fighting, no matter what. Good job fighting them off, Team."

"Hn…" Saki muttered, though she looked towards the man whose claw was still frozen in a block of ice. Her eyes went towards the claw encased in ice, her eyes shining somewhat with approval.

The blonde scratched the back part of his head, somewhat embarrassed on how he (actually, the team) was being praised.

Sakura just giggled silly.

Kakashi's eyes then transformed, narrowing as he looked at Tazuna with an evil-like glint, making the old man nervous.

"What…!?"

"We need to talk, Tazuna-san…"

* * *

Naruto racked his brain as Kakashi began to explain. The Mist-nins actually hid in a puddle, which their jounin-sensei felt out of place because the area was far away from a water source and it hadn't rained at all this week. The blonde was pretty impressed at his sensei for figuring that out, and realized it was the same danger that Kyuubi had warned him about.

Now that went out of the way, Kakashi demanded Tazuna for an explanation. The two ninjas were aiming for him, proven by the fact that they tried to kill the man.

Tazuna didn't even leave much of a defense, and readily admitted that there was a dangerous man after him… Gatou, who was holding Wave Country in a tight grip, monopolizing its port to conduct business. The old man was building a bridge that would connect the country to a mainland, and was pretty much a threat to Gatou's business.

Kakashi took some time to deliberate, weighing his options. Tazuna hired them for a C-Rank mission, which mostly involves highway robbers, thieves, and the small-time gang members. Now that they found out was a very rich man who could hire ninjas, the rank became much higher: B-Rank, maybe even A-Rank.

"Let's go home," he declared, making Tazuna's eyes widen in surprise.

"What…? Wait, please…" he begged, but was completely cut off by the jounin, who looked at him with a dead-serious expression.

"You hired us for a simple C-Rank mission… and it was pretty obvious it was more than that," the jounin declared in deathly whisper.

"I couldn't afford anything higher…!"

"Not only that, but you deliberately lied, endangering myself and my team," the jounin continued, ignoring what Tazuna had just stated. "That's a breach of contract and trust. There is no reason to continue on this mission."

"Please! I had no choice!" the older man declared, his voice raised a bit. He slowly slumped down, almost dropping the bottle he held. "I had no choice. The bridge is our only hope… Wave Country… my home, have suffered enough under Gatou. So… please!"

Naruto looked towards Tazuna with a slight frown. Maybe it was the image of the down-trodden drunkard, begging with his all that tugged a few strings in his heart that made steel his resolve. He looked at Kakashi, and declared in a simple yet unfaltering voice, "I would like to continue this mission. I want to protect the old man."

Tazuna looked at him with a very grateful expression, but Kakashi wasn't moved.

"Naruto, it'll get very dangerous. We don't know who else Gatou hired after him…"

"So what?" the blonde declared, somewhat annoyed. "That's why I want to continue this mission! I can't just abandon him like that!"

Kakashi wanted to argue, but felt that it would get nowhere. Instead, he looked to the rest of the team, and gauge their reaction.

"Let's continue," Saki declared, stealing a slight glance towards the blonde. "If there are strong opponents… I want to fight them."

"If Sasuke-kun goes… I'm going too!" Sakura declared.

The jounin sighed. Nodding, he wondered slightly if he was making a big mistake as he declared to his team those fateful words…

"Alright. Team Seven continuing the mission. Let's go."

**To Be Continued**

* * *

_Author's Notes: _

_Sorry it took a while. I was out on a trip and all… plus some good PS3 games as well. _

_Now, as for Haku… I finally decided… but I'll keep it to myself. :P _

_Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Later!_


	8. Chapter 8

Naruto Uzumaki was quiet… quite unlike him, his teammates and teachers would state, but for once they didn't mind nor question his actions because it was pretty much advantageous for them.

He was too loud, and when sneaking in, loud is death.

They were in the middle of a large body of water, with a thick fog creeping everywhere. Team Seven and Tazuna had finally arrived in a rather make-shift port, and had called on a friend to smuggle them across. Apparently, Gatou had been using patrol boats to sniff out goods going out of the country without his consent, and even controlling the flow of people going in or out.

The reason why Naruto was so quiet because Gwendolyn, the Wind Mana, had now been training him to feel the wind; apparently, one of the gifts you receive in making a Wind Mana your partner was not only the ability to control the winds in a way, but also read them as another part of his senses.

The Wind Mana had explained what he had felt earlier, when the two Mist-nins had attacked, was actually a talent that he would need to develop and train. Apparently, he actually had the gift, or the innate ability that was either caused by a bloodline or because he was a natural wind user.

Gwendolyn could not guess.

Not that it mattered; Naruto's pact with the Wind Mana had enhanced that current aptitude of his, and she began to train him in it. It was all in a state of mind, she stated. Keep calm, as the wind would disperse immediately if his mind was unstable; often listen because the winds would rarely, if ever, make a mistake on anything.

Naruto had to nod. He remembered ignoring it when Mizuki had dangled the carrot attached to a stringed pole in front of his face, luring him to steal the Forbidden Scroll. Knowing how useful the wind was, he began to train his senses by checking out his surroundings.

The wind was pretty much chatty, if Naruto kept still and quiet. It talked about how many patrol boats were around and where they were located. It also even gave him the image of a rather large structure, judging from its shape, an incomplete bridge.

That was probably what Tazuna was working on.

The blonde realized after a while that the Wind slowly becomes less understandable when he moved. Just moving his head slightly caused him to lose the location of five of the farthest patrol-boats in the area. In essence, the wind was a sort of radar that had the most effective range when he kept absolutely still.

"Whoa!" Sakura silently declared, pointing out the incomplete bridge.

"Yup…" Tazuna looked at his master work seriously. "That will be Wave Country's hope."

* * *

Disembarking in another make-shift port, Team Seven and their client, Tazuna, continued on foot. Everyone agreed that today, they'd take it easy, and just reach Tazuna's house, and then work on a plan tomorrow.

They passed on a wooded area, and Naruto stiffened. Something was wrong… he could feel it. He stilled himself, and listened to the wind around him. They were seemingly scrambling out of their way, as if there was some sort of invisible presence nearby. Locking on the location, Naruto suddenly threw his kunai towards the bushes.

Team Seven stopped, going silent. They looked towards Naruto, Sakura looking exasperated, Saki looking neutrally though questioningly, while Kakashi seemed to still.

"What the hell was that, idiot!? Don't scare me like that!" Sakura burst out suddenly. For once, the blonde ignored her and moved towards the bushes where he threw his weapon, and revealed a white rabbit. Sakura groaned.

"A rabbit!? You happy you idiot? You scared an innocent fluffy creature!"

Naruto, still ignoring her, looked slightly alarmed. He was pretty sure he threw it towards a rather large disturbance… the rabbit wasn't even the distressing the wind much, so it couldn't be the thing that had been bothering him, so he continued to look around, scanning, listening to the wind…

Kakashi himself was now alert. The fur of the rabbit wasn't supposed to be white at this season, meaning the animal was kept in captivity and as a ninja, keeping small animals like that meant one thing…

It was used for Kawarimi Jutsu.

The wind whistled… loudly. So loudly that even Kakashi heard it. He and Naruto ducked automatically, dragging down Tazuna, Saki and Sakura on the ground, as a very large and long sword passed, sliding past them, and lodging itself on a tree log.

A second later, a lithe, well-defined man came down from the tree top, landing cleanly on the exposed blade. His forehead protector was the same as the ones they had beaten days ago, and his mouth was covered in a dark cloth, like Kakashi.

"Ho…?" the man whispered quite quietly. "I see why the Demon Brothers have failed… They faced you."

Kakashi stood up, his visible eye narrowing.

"Zabuza… Momochi Zabuza…" the jounin said.

"Oh… you've heard of me?" the man asked, and jumped from his position, grabbing on the hilt of the sword, and before he landed, placed it on the straps of his back. "It feels good to know that even someone like Copy Cat Ninja Kakashi, knows who I am."

The jounin-sensei of Team Seven stayed silent, opting only to finally uncover his left eye.

"Oh… the Sharingan. To see it this early… truly an honor," Zabuza declared neutrally.

Saki stiffened. Did she hear right? Her black eyes went straight towards her sensei, narrowing.

Naruto didn't say anything… he felt a small growl coming from Kyuubi, but he was still too distracted to even register the action.

Sakura and Tazuna seemed to look towards Kakashi with more respect.

As his students and client stood up, he extended his left arm to his side, as if to block any of them from moving. He said, "Don't move. Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura… protect Tazuna."

Nodding, his students formed a triangle formation around their client, and all three somewhat rather excited as they felt that they were about to witness a fight they had yet to experience in their lives…

* * *

Kakashi cursed inwardly as he felt the water around him harden, berating himself. How could he have been so careless? Granted, this was probably his first life-and-death battle since he had quit ANBU Corps years ago, but he shouldn't have been this bad!

He had fought off Zabuza spectacularly, until he got somewhat careless towards the end, where he was lured in a body of water, which he noticed in the end, was tough to move on. Before he could react, the water began to form a sphere around him, with Zabuza holding it in place.

It was Suirō no Jutsu… a water technique that imprisons a target in a sphere of water.

He could see his students shiver somewhat as they faced off multiple water clones of Zabuza. He had no chance to escape… unless he could do something to make the Mist missing-nin let go of the sphere, and his movements inside were already limited. He could only shout an order to his Genin…

"Get out of here!"

Saki growled. His orders, or his bravado if one would put it, were useless to the young Uchiha. His capture had voided their chance of escaping, and the man wanted them to escape? Granted, even if that was true, even if they left, Kakashi would forfeit his chances of survival, and who would stop Zabuza from going after them?

Sakura shivered, seeing the group of Zabuza, each of them with a large sword, stalking at them.

"Look at you shivering… cowering…" one of the Zabuza clones closed in.

"Like a bunch of babies…" another Zabuza clone seemed to ready his weapon.

"Are you really ninjas?" a third Zabuza clone had a leery expression.

"Or… just kids playing ninjas?"

Then, everyone could hear Zabuza's creepy laugh linger in the air.

"I guess Genins aren't what they used to be… I bet you little brats don't even know what it means to take a life," Zabuza's voice continued. "Me… I had to kill to become one."

"What…?" Sakura looked confused, also fearful. Her two teammates didn't fare better.

"The banned graduation exam of the Mist Village…" Kakashi replied in a clear voice. Zabuza, who was holding him inside the water sphere, looked surprised.

"Oh? You've heard of it?"

Kakashi looked solemn inside his water prison.

"Long ago, the Hidden Mist Village was also called the Blood Mist Village, because of how genins had to graduate…"

Zabuza chuckled darkly.

Naruto looked somewhat pensive. He had a rather dark feeling about it, judging from the look their enemy had.

"What was it?" Naruto asked, almost in a whisper.

"You want to know?" Zabuza looked at him. He seemed to smile under the cloth covering his mouth. "Graduates would fight to the death."

"Sensei…?" Sakura looked out of it.

"It's true," Kakashi replied. "They would pit the class at each other, one killing the other. This was the practice until ten years ago, when the Demon appeared."

"Demon?" Saki looked at the jounin.

Sakura shivered. She didn't like where the conversation was going.

"What… what did that Demon do?"

Kakashi sighed. "He killed everyone in his class."

All eyes went to Zabuza, who had, what Naruto could describe as a sick expression.

"Yes… that was quite fun," he declared.

Naruto felt his stomach fall. It wasn't fear anymore of the man, who admitted into killing his class just to become a genin, but the fear of losing Kakashi, their client, and his teammates. Granted, they weren't exactly his friends (he loved Sakura-chan… or so he thinks), but they were still his team.

If he was unsure on what to do when the jounin was captured, he knew what would happen if he followed his orders: Kakashi would die. A man as remorseless as Zabuza wouldn't hesitate to kill him… and following that, his team and client would pay the price.

"_If you're not prepared… you could get yourself or your team injured." _

The words of Kurenai had come back to him. Naruto nodded somewhat with understanding and prepared himself as he took a tentative step forward, surprising everyone around them when he did so.

"Oh?" one Zabuza clone muttered, looking at Naruto with a sneer. "A brave… or stupid boy… steps forward."

The blonde steeled his eyes. Iruka had once told him… the Shinobi life was fraught in peril. One must be prepared to lay down his or her life for the village. He wasn't going to cower in fear when his team needed him.

"You don't scare me," Naruto declared. "Those are just stupid Water Clones."

"True… a water clone only has one-tenth of my strength… but even then…"

Suddenly, a Zabuza clone appeared in front of Naruto, making Kakashi stiffen and Sakura scream, as it raised its big sword and was about to swipe the blonde when suddenly, a wet stabbing sound permeated the air.

For a wild moment, Tazuna thought the blonde was done for… cut in half, skewered, or whatever other bloody and nasty things happen when flesh and bone meets a large piece of sharpened metal… but to his surprise, the Zabuza clone hadn't even begun his swing… in fact, it looked shocked before it transformed into a puddle of water.

Kakashi smiled somewhat as he saw the blonde had stabbed the clone with his Alchemic spear. He was even happier when he realized Naruto didn't stop at that.

_**Grab multiple of your ice bombs… throw them in a wide arc. Detonate after three seconds. **_

_Got it!_

Naruto followed Kyuubi's instructions, and when he did, he concentrated a slight amount of chakra, and like a remote detonator, made his bombs explode, sending shards of ice in multiple directions. Multiple clones exploded when they were hit by the sharp shards, turning them all to puddles of water.

Once again, everyone present blinked with the turn of events, with Zabuza being the one most surprised. He found an unsettling feeling as he saw the blonde's spear and his bombs, only to realize something important.

"Alchemist…!" he muttered in deathly whisper. Fun and games have stopped. He had thought the biggest threat of the Genin Team had been their jounin-sensei, but now, he had to contend to another dangerous opponent… an alchemist, who wielded an alchemic weapon.

"Kill the boy!" he ordered his clones.

All surrounding water clones suddenly converged towards the blonde, who looked somewhat surprised. Before anything could happen though, he heard his teammate suddenly shout an order at him.

"Naruto… duck!" Saki declared as she quickly performed seals with her hands, and took a very deep breathe. Realizing what she was about to do, Naruto ducked, and the youngest Uchiha blew out an intense fireball that got all but three clones.

_**Brat… take control of the battlefield. **_

Naruto obliged without much of a reply. Grabbing out his Fate Deck, he retreated a few meters back.

"Cover me!" Naruto declared towards the Uchiha who nodded, and was attacked by a water clone.

Quickly spreading his cards in the air, he grabbed three blank cards and his own, and executed the Jade Shift technique. Two of his clones appeared, one holding Gwendolyn's spear, and the other another deck of cards.

At first, Saki had thought she could hold off the Water Clone as easily as Naruto had, only to realize that the clone was pretty much faster and more powerful than she was. More skilled too from the looks of it, which actually made Saki suddenly question her skill level (and her blonde teammate's).

The water clone kept dodging her attacks, and countered at times, making the Uchiha step back in retreat. She spotted a Naruto who was holding a spear at her right try and take a stab at another clone, while the card wielding Naruto from her left try to smack another clone with his cards… and they didn't seem to be faring much better than her.

Saki could only blink in surprise, before she ducked because the clone she had been fighting with. Before she knew it, she and the two Naruto clones were back to back, facing their respective enemy clones, closing in on them, their eyes showing intent to kill.

"Damnit!" the Naruto with the spear muttered. "Any ideas?"

"Why are you asking me?" Saki growled slightly. "You seemed to be doing well earlier…"

"Yeah, but… I don't think they expected a mere genin to suddenly kill them," the Naruto with cards replied. "And since our element of surprise is gone…"

Saki nodded. That made sense. It wasn't advance skill that Naruto had used to kill those clones earlier… it had been an element of surprise, and the fact that Zabuza had been underestimating them. She herself dispelled a few clones using a surprise tactic herself…

Of course, Saki had no time to feel relieved. Now that the man was serious, she and Naruto needed a plan to come out on top of this.

"Heh… I guess we hit the limit of our training…" the card wielding Naruto chuckled.

"And what's that?" the spear wielding Naruto asked.

"All our forms were to be used against single opponents… not multiple ones."

"Oh yeah…"

"If the moron has any real plans, please share them now," Saki growled, not liking how off-beat the Narutos seemed to be considering their situation.

"Heh… don't sweat too much, psycho-girl," Naruto-Spear stated, earning a really murderous glare from the Uchiha. He suddenly whispered, in a very low tone, "Make your opponent think you're attacking the left side and go for it. I'll take care of the rest."

Saki's eyes narrowed, though nodded. Looking in front of her, she shouted, about to stab a kunai towards her opponent's left side, only to feel a slight pull as she charged in… suddenly, the scenery behind her opponent changed… in fact, the stance of her opponent changed.

He was open for a left strike, easy picking for her kunai.

Back towards the other Naruto, who was reading the fate cards lined up in the air, he smiled as he pulled off a successful switch. It was a simple bait and switch, but using the Uzumaki-way. The two Naruto clones and Saki would do a very readable attack, each a different target area. Knowing the missing-nin was quite experienced, having bested Kakashi (temporarily as it was), the clones would automatically defend the places they thought would be in the receiving end of their attacks.

After that, all it took was to switch the position of the attackers. Naruto traded Saki's position with his clone handling the Fate Cards, who was traded for the one using the Spear, who was traded with Saki.

It ended with three dead water clones.

"Woot!" the card-wielding Naruto declared as he shuffled the cards between his two hands. Weeks of practice made the action pretty much second-nature to him. The switching itself took a very delicate and speedy process that without the training he got, Naruto wouldn't have been able to pull it off. "Now that's done, let's get Kakashi-sensei!"

Saki grinned, but along with the more serious spear-wielding Naruto, they nodded and the three charged towards the lake where Kakashi was imprisoned by Zabuza, who looked more than miffed watching his clones get turned to puddles of water.

Spear-Naruto smirked, and readied himself. Saki's expression turned curious she looked at what the clone was doing. Pointing the spear upwards, the clone heaved as he threw the spear as high as he could.

Zabuza blinked.

Saki blinked.

Kakashi blinked.

Sakura and Tazuna blinked.

Somewhere out there, a masked figure blinked as well.

It wasn't until a few seconds later did the genius of the plan start to unfold. From the skies, the spear transformed back into the third Naruto clone, who used his new Wind Reading skill to determine the location of his target. Since he was moving, the wind was not as clear as it could be if he was motionless, but he could still determine where Zabuza and Kakashi were. Without pause, tapped both his Storage seals in his sleeves, extracted as many Fire Bombs he could muster, and dropped them before he felt a pull, and disappeared from the air.

Next thing anyone knew, the whole area where Zabuza and Kakashi were exploded into what Saki (being the pyromaniac she is) would lovingly call the great big balls of fire.

Zabuza growled. He was just forced to release the Water Prison technique when he saw small shadows from above falling at them. He didn't have time to blink, and assumed it was an aerial attack.

His instincts proved right, because if he hadn't, he would have been barbecued by the blast. The fire still singed what was left of his already near-absent eyebrows, and as angry as he should have been, he consoled himself to the thought that Kakashi had probably been roasted by such a careless attack.

Of course, he suddenly heard Kakashi's voice.

"Naruto… when this is over, we need to talk."

The Demon of the Mist blinked as he noticed that he was the only one near ground zero. Somehow, Kakashi had teleported near the blonde, the client and the pink-haired kunoichi. What was worse was the fact the jounin looked relatively unscathed, untouched by fire.

"How the hell did that happen?" Zabuza whispered, his anger rising. He suspected the blonde kid…

This is why he hated alchemists… too many cards up their sleeves.

Naruto, the original one who had his cards spread in the air smiled, although his fingers were now hurting. It took precise timing… he had expected Zabuza to let go of his technique when he spotted the bombs coming at them from above. According to Kyuubi, the Water Prison seemed to be maintained as long as the Zabuza held on to it, and when he would let go, Kakashi would be released, making it easier to retract his card to a safer place (mainly, back where Naruto, Sakura and Tazuna were).

Any later, Kakashi would have been toast. Of course, the blonde had hoped Zabuza wouldn't spot the bomb, and get blown to bits, and Kakashi would be protected inside the water sphere, but, as Gwendolyn once told him, he couldn't always get what he wanted.

All of this, Naruto wanted to brag. It wasn't everyday you pull a fast one on two jounins… considering Kakashi looked surprised and shocked at his current position, and the rather annoyed and heated look Zabuza was giving him.

He just smirked, wanting to push a few more buttons as he could, but since Sakura-chan was watching… maybe he ought to borrow a page from the psycho-girl?

"Sorry, but we're ninjas. Trade secret," declared Naruto in his oh-so-cool voice. He stole a look toward Sakura, hoping she'd look in his direction.

Her eyes, shaped like hearts, were on Saki. Naruto looked like his plants died.

"Che…" Zabuza looked amused for a moment, before his eyes narrowed, and stared at the blonde, who's cards were still spread in the air. Naruto looked somewhat apprehended, when Kakashi suddenly stood in front of him, his regular eye and Sharingan stared back at the Demon of the Mist.

"I'll be your opponent again, Zabuza," Kakashi declared in a serious tone. "Your tricks won't work twice on me…"

Saki and the other two Naruto clones seemed to fall back towards the group. Kakashi smiled slightly, feeling proud that his Team seemed to pull through (except for Sakura… he's gonna have a few words with her), especially Naruto, who's Alchemic Weapons were more than what they seemed, and Uchiha Saki, who was showing her willingness to at least work with someone.

He had embarrassed them when he was captured, he thought darkly. It was time he earned their respect again.

* * *

"Wow…" that was the only thing Naruto could say. He dismissed his clones, and put back his Fate Cards in his pocket, though he was still somewhat alert in case Zabuza tried to go at them again…

However, the Demon of the Mist was now pre-occupied. Kakashi came back with a vengeance, attacking left and right at Zabuza who could only defend, wedging himself to a corner. The missing-nin tried his best to create space, and then, began to form seals.

To Naruto's amazement, he saw Kakashi copying the exact same seal sequence as Zabuza, if only slightly behind by a millisecond, but still enough to make Zabuza look fearful.

_**I hate those eyes…**_

Naruto blinked, hearing Kyuubi's hackles rise. This came to a surprise, because as far as Naruto knew, Kyuubi never really hated anything… well except embarrassment (mainly the blonde), and being sealed in him. But even then, the Fox Mana never growled, exuding as much hate as he did today.

_What's bothering you, Kyuubi?_

_**Nothing. Just… remembering the past. **_

_Wanna share? _

_**To an idiot like you? Hah! **_

Naruto blinked, then seethed. Saki, who was beside him, heard him mumble about stupid fuzz-balls, but she continued to watch Kakashi using her bloodline eyes (or an eye in this case) quite effectively.

_Idiot Fox! Moronic fur ball! Ingrate! Pain in the ass! _

_**SHUT UP! **_

Naruto's mind quieted down, but still angry. For a while, there was silence, before the Fox seemed to sigh.

_**Maybe I'll tell you one day. **_

Naruto was satisfied with that.

Two rather large bodies of water shaped as dragons came crashing into one another. The force was enough to launch the closer nin, Zabuza, who had unleashed his technique a second too late, into a tree. Kakashi was about to finish the man off when needles suddenly shot out from the trees, and embedded themselves in Zabuza's neck.

Everyone stepped back, surprised at the sudden turn of events. There was a slight movement on the branch above, overlooking the body of water. Naruto felt the wind suddenly pick up, going a bit off.

"Hunter-nin?" Kakashi asked, and the masked figure nodded.

"Hunter-nin?" Naruto repeated, confused.

"Yes," the masked figure stated. The mist was clearing, and soon, everyone saw in more details about their new mysterious guest. "My duty is to hunt down Missing-nins like Momochi Zabuza."

Judging by the voice and height, Kakashi surmised that the Hunter-nin was slightly older than Naruto. He found himself impressed, seeing someone so young in the Hunter-nin division. Placing gentle fingers in the neck of the fallen Demon of the Mist, he nodded with satisfaction, feeling no pulse.

Yup. Definitely dead.

Naruto only looked at the masked figure, sweating slightly. Kakashi, one of the most powerful man he had ever met (the old man Hokage didn't count because… well, he falls too easily for his Sexy no Jutsu), and even he had trouble with Zabuza.

The boy, who he knew was at his age or somewhat older, just killed Zabuza so… easily.

_**Is it so shocking, moron? **_

_Kyuubi? _

_**This is the ninja life. There will be kids much younger than you… yet stronger than your teacher. I'm the best example. I'm the Kyuubi no Kitsune… yet I was defeated. By a weak mortal.**_

_Hmph… you probably just overestimated yourself. _

_**Well, the moron uses big words. Anything else you know? **_

_Oh shut up!_

"Are there any problems?" the masked figure asked as he or she approached the fallen figure of Zabuza.

Kakashi looked towards his team. It seemed Naruto was the only who seemed agitated by the presence of the Hunter-nin, so he placed a gentle hand on top of the blonde's head. Naruto looked at him, calmed slightly as he saw his sensei looking at him, and then nodded.

"No problems here," Kakashi declared, covering his Sharingan with his forehead protector again.

The hunter-nin nodded, and carried the body before vanishing. Kakashi's visible eye widened slightly, a rather dark thought entering his mind, but before he could act on it, he fell down, exhausted.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto's eyes widened, kneeled and check on the man. Behind them, Saki, Sakura and Tazuna rushed to them.

"Hey! What's wrong with Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, looking concerned.

"Don't worry… its just chakra exhaustion," Kakashi replied, taking a few deep breathes. The battle took too long, and his Sharingan eye had drained him quite a bit.

Naruto blinked, and immediately went for his storage seals, and extracted a rather small bottle of brown-ish liquid.

"Drink this Kakashi-sensei!" the blonde declared. The jounin blinked, but obliged, and instantly felt his energy levels refilling.

"Wow…" Kakashi whispered, feeling his chakra well enough he could stand and walk. "What is this?"

"A potion that instantly recovers chakra energies," the blonde grinned, earning a questionable glance from Sakura. Saki, knowing his status as an Alchemist, didn't looked fazed.

"Where'd you get that?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

"Made it," Naruto replied easily.

"Made… it?" Sakura blinked, and then laughed slightly. "Alright, stop joking… where'd you get that?"

Naruto frowned, but before he could reply, Kakashi tapped his shoulder, looking much better.

"You have anymore, Naruto?" the jounin asked. His chakra levels recovered enough for him to walk, but he still felt a bit drained. A few more bottles of that liquid, he guessed, he'd feel as good as new.

"Nope," Naruto replied, shrugging. He extracted another bottle, this time filled with blue liquid. "I rarely make those… it's kinda hard to make, plus I hardly ever suffer from major chakra loss. Anyways, here, Kakashi-sensei… this one is for your wounds…"

Sakura looked miffed, her query unanswered, while their jounin-sensei took a small swig off the bottle, and then, nodded after a second, and began to drink all of it.

"Thank you, Naruto," Kakashi said. He scanned the eyes of other genin, mostly towards Sakura's direction before he smiled somewhat. "Maybe its time to tell your teammates your… capabilities."

Naruto blinked, and his eyes went towards Gwendolyn, who just signaled him, 'Your choice.'

"Sure," he replied finally. Why hide it anyway? Besides, the cool factor can win Sakura-chan's heart (don't bet on it)!

"Good. Teammates don't hide anything from each other," Kakashi's visible eye smiled. "Plus it would do me good to know how good my students are, really. Great work by the way, Naruto, Sasuke. I'm proud of your growth. Now…"

Kakashi looked towards the road now visible.

"… let's go."

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

_Author's Notes: _

_Before I say anything, I'm gonna ask anyone with a healthy interest in space adventure movies to watch Star Trek. I'm not a big Trekkie, nor do I follow most of the stories in that particular series, but the movie made me feel great. Good story, good performances, and good actions and visuals… _

_I also watched XMEN ORGINS: Wolverine, and I was very disappointed. I had thought, if worse comes to worse, I can at least get inspiration by watching Gambit, another card-wielding character, but… meh. _

_Naruto, if any of you noticed, is maturing faster than canon, which is the aim here. I will try to add the more powerful aspects of Alchemy to this story (one is the elemental synthesis found it Atelier Iris 1, and the 'fix things up ala FMA', which is also found in the Atelier Iris Games, though only through story-wise. _

_Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Later! _

_Additional AN:_

_Wow... that was embarassing. I corrected the whole Zabuza problem, thank you people for pointing it out. I guess that's the last time I'll dive into a badly subbed Naruto anime... lol. _

_Later!  
_


	9. Chapter 9

"Ouch…" Zabuza muttered, looking particularly mad towards his younger companion. "You could be more gentle."

"Gentler, Zabuza-sama…" the masked figure corrected.

"Shut up, Haku," the man growled, before gently yelping as he felt another needle poke his body.

"Multiple burns of varying degrees, concussion and impact related wounds, plus the fact your body is in a weakened state after putting you in a near-death state-"

"Which was your fault…"

Haku, the masked figure, sighed. "Please settle down Zabuza-sama. We have to work on you so we could get you back into shape."

"Hmph…" Zabuza closed his eyes. "Stupid Sharingan… and damn that Alchemist…"

"Alchemist?" Haku looked at the man. "What is an Alchemist, Zabuza-sama? Its… it's the first time I heard of this term."

"Well…"

* * *

Back at Tazuna's house, Team Seven, including Kakashi, along with Tazuna and his daughter were eating dinner rather peacefully. For once, Naruto had minded his manners, and only because Kyuubi insisted. After all, poor table manners were, as Kyuubi would put it…

_**Undignified. **_

To pass time, Naruto had began to share the fact that he was a fully practicing Alchemist in Konoha. The results… weren't pretty.

"WHAT!?" Sakura shouted, standing up from her place. Everyone in the room had to cover their ears. "LIAR! That's the worse lie since Kakashi told us one when we left!"

"That was uncalled for Sakura," Kakashi replied, though he was in a very cordial mood. "And actually, it's true. Naruto's mother was an Alchemist, and after some misunderstanding concerning Naruto stealing a Forbidden Scroll and a traitorous teacher, he started his training as one."

"Wha… LIAR!" Sakura shouted again. "I'm not gullible sensei! The Forbidden Scroll is locked up inside the Hokage Tower, where ANBU guard and where the Hokage lives!"

"Well… most of the ANBU were men… so all it took was a well placed Sexy no Jutsu…" Naruto explained, though was cut when Sakura looked even madder.

"Like they'd fall for that stupid jutsu!"

"I could," Kakashi declared, earning dirty looks from Naruto and Saki, and if it was possible, Sakura's Level Two Angry Face.

"Okay… even if that's possible, the Academy Teachers are screened so they'd be competent and trustworthy enough to teach!"

"Well… Mizuki did mysteriously disappear after graduation…" Saki interjected.

"Okay… okay…" Sakura looked defeated for a moment, and the young Uchiha smirked inwardly, knowing she just put her in place. "Alright… but even if that was true, Naruto was the dead-last of our class! How the hell does he show aptitude of becoming an Alchemist? He can't even do math!"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined. He could do math! How did she think? That he spent his money so freely?

"Excuse me… but… what's an alchemist?" Tazuna asked. His daughter nodded, indicating she too was curious.

"Alchemy was an ancient study long ago. It's a marriage mix of Science and Magic," Sakura replied.

"Very text-book answer, Sakura," Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. "Do you think you can elaborate more than that?"

The pink-haired kunoichi shook her head.

"Alright… what Sakura was saying is right. Alchemy is a study of marriages between Science and Magic, something that permeated in ancient time. Science, is as most of us know, are the studies of everyday life; Math, Biology, Physics, Chemistry. Magic is a tad more complicated thing to explain."

"Yeah… I was never really iffy about Magic," Naruto declared, making everyone look at him. "From what I gathered, when the Universe was created, the world was governed by spirits. Those spirits were part of those who created the world. The energy they manipulate is Magical energy."

"Heh… did you know, Naruto, that the study and theories of chakra manipulation was actually an off-shoot study about Magic?" Kakashi asked, his visible eye smiling. The blonde shook his head. "Your mother told me that."

"You… you knew my mother? As in personally?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Oh yeah… she's just like you," Kakashi smiled. It was true… Uzumaki Kushina acted a lot like Naruto… though his looks were definitely from his father. "I'll tell you more about her back at Konoha. Don't need you distracted."

"You mean… no one's joking? You're all serious?" Sakura asked, looking as if the world had gone mad, and she was the last san person in the world.

"Well… why not show her, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"Sure," Naruto replied, and Team Seven followed him outside.

Unbeknownst to them, a pair of eyes watched them.

* * *

Outside, a wee bit away from Tazuna's house, Naruto had extracted his spear out, from thin air. It was the most basic weapon, something Naruto had used when fighting against Kakashi during their Survival Training. Showing them its ability to be dismissed and called easily, also its other more Wind related features like making rushing cuttings winds to assist its actions, he also told Kakashi he had been training hard for the past few weeks in using them.

"Let me see that," Sakura muttered, extending her arm towards Naruto.

"Um…" the blonde looked at his still invisible Wind Mana partner, Gwendolyn, who just nodded. "Sure…"

Gently handing her the spear, Saki and Kakashi looked at the weapon curiosly… only to step back as Sakura suddenly shouted, and was driven to the ground.

"What the hell! Get it off me! Get it off me!" Sakura yelled, trying to lift her arm away. The spear was in her hand, but seemed to be imbedded on the ground.

"Wha…! Sorry Sakura-chan!" Naruto declared, lifting the spear easily away.

"What the hell was that!?" Sakura demanded, Kakashi helping her up. She pointed an accusing finger towards the blonde. "How the hell can you carry such a heavy thing!?"

"Heavy?" Naruto asked, confused. "It's not heavy at all!" and to prove the point, twirled the weapon around.

"It's insanely heavy!"

"Maa… Sakura, calm down," Kakashi stated, smiling slightly, holding the pink-haired kunoichi before she did anything drastic… like kicking the blonde's face in.

Saki looked at the spear, and also asked Naruto if she could hold it (in less volume than Sakura's request). The blonde didn't seem comfortable enough to trust her (she was still a psycho to him) with his weapon, but agreed to anyway. Once he handed it to her, she too fell forward, as if she was holding something very heavy.

"Take it!" Saki shouted immediately. Naruto went to it.

"Well, it seems the weapon is definitely an odd one," Kakashi declared. "I hear some Alchemic weapons won't work unless they are at the hands of worthy handlers or their owners. Good weapon, Naruto… its safe to say no one will be using it against you."

Once the whole commotion was over, Naruto then introduced his Fate Cards, which was also pretty much known in action as the blonde had also used it in Kakashi's Survival Test. What Naruto showed this time though was a few of its abilities, like making clones (Jade Shift), the ability to stop and control projectiles, and the most interesting bit… control people's movements and location.

"Oh… so that's how it went," Kakashi said, having a little fun with the Retraction usage of the cards. Without any energy wasted, he found himself teleported all over the place.

"Yeah…" Naruto said. "Although from what I can understand, I can't just pull people easily. If they resist in any way, they'll just get stuck there. So… you're lucky, Kakashi-sensei. If you resisted… you'd have been barbecued."

"Huh… I'll keep that in mind then," Kakashi replied, his expression showing nervousness. Then, it transformed back to seriousness. "We can form a lot of formations with this technique. You may not know it, Naruto, but you just made yourself the most important part of the group."

"What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Well, in essence, our Naruto here would make himself our key-player. With the ability to make clones, and the ability to change theirs and your positions freely, he could in turn make it that you can attack at blind angles, or make you retreat when you're in trouble," the jounin explained. "For example… he could instantly send Sasuke here behind enemy lines, and when the enemy approaches him, he could instantly teleport him away."

"Oh… I never thought of that…" Naruto declared, making both Saki and Sakura hit their palms to their own faces.

"You idiot! We can't depend on you!" the pink-haired kunoichi declared.

"Maa, don't worry," Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "Once we get home, I'm going to give you lots of scrolls using strategy."

"Eh? Just give me scrolls with cool jutsus!" Naruto replied.

"If you study them well… maybe," Kakashi declared, making Naruto whoop up with joy.

"He's… hopeless," Sakura whispered. "He's definitely hopeless."

"Alright, Team, early to bed. Tomorrow, we'll be training," Kakashi declared.

"Training?" Saki asked. Kakashi nodded.

"I have reason to believe that Zabuza is not dead."

Those words seemed to have a very quieting effect. All the genins suddenly looked at the man as if he was joking, but Kakashi took a grave pose, his face blank yet serious.

"Wha... that's impossible!" Naruto declared. "We all saw it! Some kid in a mask killed him!"

"I thought so too, but I remembered the little fact that Hunter-nins immediately dispose the body of a missing-nin in location, often taking the head as means of proof," the jounin replied easily. "That particular Hunter-nin forgot that, and just took the body with him."

"Maybe he just didn't want to do it in front of us?" Sakura reasoned, but Kakashi shook his head.

"The Standard Operating Procedure of any shinobi is followed strictly," the jounin said. "Plus, senbon needles are an odd choice of weapons for assassins. It's mostly used on medical practitioners. It can be used to hit a certain area to induce a death-like state."

Saki's eyes widened slightly, registering what the jounin was saying. "No way…"

"Do you think it's like... that?" Naruto asked. "That the eyebrow-less freak's still... alive?"

Kakashi nodded seriously.

"Then... well, let's train tomorrow then!" the blonde declared, now moving back towards the house. Sakura, who took most of the surprising blows today, from finding out Naruto was apparently an Alchemist, Mizuki was probably a traitor, and that Zabuza, the freaky guy, was still alive.

That left Kakashi and Saki alone in the area.

"You know... Saki..."

The youngest Uchiha's eyes narrowed, her killing intent flowing, but the jounin ignored it.

"Oh hush, no one's around," Kakashi gently admonished. "When I said Teammates don't hide things from each other, I was also talking about you."

"Hmph... whatever," Saki began to walk away, following her two teammates. "This team is full of secrets. You with the Sharingan, Naruto being a bloodline Alchemist... what's next? Sakura with schizophrenia?"

Kakashi didn't reply, but grabbed his orange book, opened it, and read it. He giggled as he followed his team.

* * *

Team Seven was up in the morning, at sun rise. Kakashi made it a point to do so. For once in Team Seven's career, lazy, always late jounin Kakashi had vanished, leaving a pretty diabolical clone in his wake. If they weren't up when he was telling them to wake up, a cold shower of water would make them.

Sakura and Naruto were two unfortunate victims. The former was too used to the schedule of the Academy. The latter just loved sleeping in. The only dry member of their group was Saki, who had a very strict training regime, and waking up at sunrise was part of it.

"I hate you, sensei," Sakura muttered as she tried to wipe herself dry.

"The early bird gets the worm," Kakashi replied easily.

"I'm not a frigging bird…" Naruto mumbled.

"Okay, enough chit-chat, people," the jounin declared seriously. "Judging from the wounds Zabuza had taken, along with that death-like state would take a heavy toll on his body, we have a week before Zabuza is up and about. We'll use that time to train him."

"Train with what Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked. "We're… genin. Our enemy's a jounin, and there's that masked-nin."

"True, but every little bit counts. I'm about to teach all of you to control your chakra."

"Wha… sensei, we already know how to use chakra!" Sakura complained.

"Wasteful use of chakra, yes," Kakashi said back. "In truth, none of you are using your chakra properly."

"Really?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow. It was one of the rare occurrence that Kakashi was teaching them something that didn't involve team exercises… he was definitely going to listen to this one.

"Naruto, remember your Bunshin no Jutsu?" Kakashi asked.

"Um…" the blonde looked slightly embarrassed. "Yeah. What about it?"

"It failed every time because you put too much chakra in it," the jounin explained. "If you do not properly control your chakra use, you'll be wasting too much, and in turn, get tired more easily."

"So… what do we do?" Saki asked.

"Something difficult. Something hard. Something you have never done before," Kakashi declared, smiling as he built the anticipation. "Tree climbing."

The three genin made faces.

"Tree climbing…?" Sakura asked, giving Kakashi the patented Haruno 'are you serious' look.

"How will that help?" Saki mumbled, disappointed. "I already know how. Hell even Naruto knows how."

"What the hell was that supposed to mean?" the blonde demanded, only to be ignored.

"Maa, pay attention," Kakashi ordered. "And yes… tree climbing. But you're not going to use your hands. Here, let me show you…"

Kakashi made a seal, and all the genin felt some chakra being used, but no jutsu appeared. Their teacher then took a step towards one of the taller trees, placed his left foot on the trunk, and steadily, walked up the tree vertically, leaving three impressed genin on the ground.

"Now… do you see?" Kakashi asked, now standing upside down in a branch, looking at his students, his visible eye smiling. "All you have to do is gather chakra at your feet and climb up the tree. Only those who can use chakra well will be able to use this skill easily."

"Wait a minute… how do we get stronger just by that?" Sakura asked.

"The training has a purpose," Kakashi replied easily, as he jumped back down. "First, it teaches chakra control, teaching you to bring out just the correct amount of chakra. The chakra required in climbing a tree is small, but it must be exact. And it is said that the bottom of the feet are the most difficult area to gather chakra. Doing the exercise, and mastering it, you can theoretically master any jutsu.

"The second is to build up stamina. Continuous usage of chakra leads to conditioning, which increases your chakra wells inside your body," the jounin continued. "You don't want to find yourself in a situation where you can't use chakra because you exhausted yourself."

Kakashi then took out three kunai, and handed them to his students.

"Take these, and go for a running start as its easier," the jounin said. "Climb a tree. Mark your progress. We'll take a break at lunch. Now… go."

Saki nodded and immediately went for her tree, and started. She climbed up rather well, until she suddenly felt the wood splinter and gave way, and immediately marked the tree with her kunai before somersaulting down safely.

Sakura had an easier time. Before she knew it, she was already on top of the tree, even exclaiming that the exercise was easy.

"Very nice, Sakura," Kakashi declared. "Seems your control is pretty good. Now, try going down, and climbing up once more."

"Um… okay…" Sakura replied, looking slightly at Saki, hoping she had impressed her crush. No luck.

The young Uchiha scoffed slightly. She wasn't going to be beaten by the deluded and infinitely loud fangirl and was about to climb up the tree again, when she spotted Naruto, sitting down, cross-legged watching the whole scene.

"Oi," Saki called. "What are you doing, sitting down?"

"Oh… nothing, just studying the exercise," Naruto declared cheerily.

"Studying…?" Saki asked, her temper rising. "If you don't do the exercise, idiot, you wouldn't get it."

"Maa, leave that Naruto alone, Sasuke," Kakashi stated, his visible eye smiling once more.

"What do you mean leave him alone…?" and Saki paused, remembering the usage of her sensei's words. "Wait a minute… what do you mean by 'that' Naruto…?"

Kakashi just pointed towards another tree, and Saki looked, only to see another Naruto running up the trunk. He didn't reach her's or Sakura's height, but still, getting there. In addition, that wasn't the only thing she noticed… she saw multiple trees having multiple Narutos climbing.

"Hmmm… so far, too little chakra, you don't stick," the Naruto on the ground commented, looking at one of the fallen Narutos. "Too much chakra… the tree cracks."

"Oi… Naruto," Saki called, now curious. She had just spotted two more Narutos on the ground, one wielding a spear, and the other with the Fate Cards, doing katas. "Why are you using clones?"

"Eh… its how I usually train," the sitting Naruto replied, shrugging. "It's faster that way."

"Heh, like Kage Bunshin, eh?" Kakashi asked, nodding a bit.

"Kage Bunshin?" Naruto asked.

"It's the more advanced version of the Bunshin," the jounin replied, and made a cross seal, and POOF! another Kakashi appeared beside the jounin.

"Kage Bunshin uses solid bodies instead of illusions," Kakashi stated. "Just like your Jade Shift technique… except for one thing…"

The jounin suddenly punched the clone, dispersing it into a cloud.

"All it takes is one solid hit, and they're gone," Kakashi said. "But here's the best part… all knowledge the clone has obtained in its life, you will receive."

"Huh… that's nice," the Naruto on the ground stated, looking impressed. "We are hardier, but… there is that nasty feedback. If one of us gets hurt, Naruto Prime, which is to say the one who formed us, will feel the pain of the injury."

"Naruto… Prime…?" the jounin asked.

"Eh… don't ask."

Kakashi studied the Naruto that spoke a bit. "Hmmm… considering your creator will receive the damage you get; does that mean there's seamless sharing of knowledge between you all?"

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Naruto replied.

"I think he meant was we all know what we're doing constantly," one of the Narutos in the tree stated. "Unlike Kage Bunshin, we don't need to disperse for Naruto Prime to gain knowledge."

"Yeah, what he said," another Naruto, the one training with the spear said.

"Heh… is it me, or are you clones having a differing personality?" the jounin asked.

"Well… considering we don't even know the true nature of the Jade Shift…" another Naruto replied. "Probably."

"Meh… who cares, really?" the sitting Naruto muttered. "It's training time. Get to it!"

"Yeah, yeah…"

Saki shook her head. The whole display was unnerving her… multiple Naruto's talking amongst themselves, arguing even. Wasn't that a sign of mental problems? Ignoring that, she looked towards her sensei, and asked him.

"Can you teach me Kage Bunshin? It will help me train."

Kakashi took a moment, studying her for a moment, before he shook his head.

"No, Sasuke, not now," the jounin replied. "Before you complain, I'm saying this only because you don't have the control, or more importantly, the chakra capacity to make a single clone without exhausting yourself. Kage Bunshin is demanding… very demanding. But tell you what, continue training, and when I see you can make one safely, I'll teach it to you."

Saki looked at the man for a moment, before she concentrated on her tree. She started dashing up again…

Kakashi had a happy expression, only to realize someone was watching them. He shifted his head a bit, trying to see who it was. It was a kid… the kid from Tazuna's house, to be exact, so he promptly ignored the boy.

"Oi Sakura… now's not the time to rest," Kakashi ordered, spotting the pink haired kunoichi collapsed on the ground.

"Eh, Kakashi-sensei, give her a break," one of the Narutos requested.

"Naruto… we need to squeeze all the time we can to train," Kakashi stated easily. "Sakura's got good control, but now, as you see, she lacks stamina."

"Still… you can give her-"

Naruto stopped talking. The other Narutos suddenly went alert, making the jounin nervous. The blondes seemed to look around, their faces scrunched up, confused.

"What is it, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"I… I have no idea…" he replied honestly.

* * *

Noon came, and so far, Sakura was in the lead, having already climbed up the highest point of her tree, but she looked the worst of the lot. Saki had been steadily catching up, but had yet to reach her peak, and Naruto… well… it depended on which Naruto you were talking about. He had many trees, all scratched up.

Both had been climbing up trees for longer periods than Sakura, yet they didn't seemed all that drained, something Sakura was a bit jealous of. Kakashi seemed to be right… she did lack stamina.

Naruto on the other hand was somewhat still nervous. Whatever he had felt, it made him very uncomfortable. It was like an ultra-real scary story he had heard once… misplaced feeling, the wind suddenly dying… he wasn't the only one. Gwendolyn herself looked somewhat spooked.

"The energy around the area seemed… unnatural…" Gwendolyn had whispered. "Like… the Corruption."

"There's a Mana present?" Naruto whispered back.

"No… there are magical energies… but it was far too weak to be Mana."

Putting that away from his mind for now, he concentrated what was in front of him for now: food.

Today's lunch was modest, something Team Seven didn't mind. They were hungry, and the rice was delicious. It didn't matter if the grilled fish they had as a meal was paper-thin, nor that it was ramen… it was filling.

There was a new addition to the table, though. A kid, very young, even younger than the three genin, wearing a fisherman's hat, looking at them. His face though, wasn't welcoming. In fact, it was bordering hostile. Still, Team Seven ignored the boy for now, trying to fill themselves.

"I'm glad you're all taking this seriously," Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "All of you are improving. Especially you, Naruto…"

Naruto had an awkward smile behind his filled mouth, scratching the back-part of his head. Saki didn't pay attention, only continued eating while Sakura looked at the blonde with a doubtful expression.

"At the rate we're going, do you think we can beat those two?" Naruto asked.

Before Kakashi could answer though, the young boy suddenly spoke: "No way."

"Wha… what!?" Naruto demanded, looking at the boy.

"You're just going to die," the kid declared.

"Inari!" Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, sternly said to the kid.

"There's no way you can win against Gatou," Inari, the kid, declared with some finality.

"Hey, you little punk!" Naruto started.

"Naruto! Stop arguing with a kid!" Sakura reasoned, but the blonde ignored her.

"I'm the future Hokage, a future hero! I don't care who stands in my way, I'll beat them all! Gatou is nothing against me!" Naruto declared. His bravado though was largely ignored by the kid, who just snorted.

"Pft. There is no such thing as a hero," the kid muttered, before standing up. "If you don't want to die… leave," and with that, he walked away.

When he was gone, Tsunami looked at Team Seven apologetically, apologizing for the rudeness of her son, Inari. While that went on, Naruto heard Kyuubi speak…

_**He's half-right. There are heroes… except they aren't heroes until they are dead. **_

_What do you mean? _

_**Heroes are nothing more than stamps of appreciation for humans. People tend to do heroic things from time to time, but they aren't without any ulterior motives. Either they did it because its their job, or because of something else… fact is, most people get labeled as heroes but are quickly forgotten, unless, of course, they die doing those said heroic things. That is when they are remembered as heroes… like that stone memorial back at your Hidden Village. **_

Naruto remembered that one. Kakashi showed it to Team Seven, giving them a brief outlook of the ugly world of shinobi. He fancied himself a hero once… but when he realized what the stone memorial was for, he had toned down a bit.

_**The brat must have had someone die for his sake… and he hasn't gotten over it. Survivor's guilt. However, let's ignore that for now. I'm more interested in that energy fluctuation we just felt earlier. **_

Nodding, Naruto then stirred the conversation, trying gather information. Anything that had magical energy was connected to Alchemy, one way or another, and as an Alchemist, he has to investigate.

"Tazuna, I felt something weird when I was training," the blonde asked the old man. Kakashi, and Saki themselves went quiet, and paid rapt attention.

"Oh…? Where?" Tazuna asked.

"About ten kilometers south-west from your house," Naruto replied. "The area was pretty dense with trees."

"Why? Did you feel something?"

"Weak magical energy… I might have thought there could be some stuff related to Alchemy," Naruto replied easily.

"Well… don't know about Alchemy, but that's one of the areas most of us won't get near to," the old man explained. "The story is so old, even my grandfather, who had told me about it, heard it from his grandfather. Apparently, there's an abandoned shrine further in that forest, where most of the people here worshipped before."

"Abandoned?" Sakura asked. "Why?"

"Apparently, one day, a heavy fog had come in… and anyone inside the fog would never be seen again," Tazuna shrugged. "It was just a story though. I saw the shrine myself… it was located in a steep depression in the deep forest. I guess with the fog coming in, people thought it would be better to not visit and avoid any accidents while traveling there. They probably also told the stories to their kids so they wouldn't go there, tumble and fall."

"Ah… thanks Tazuna," the blonde said, then quietly going for his food again.

While they continued on their humble meal, Kakashi took a momentary pause to inform his students that training will commence thirty minutes after eating, so it would be wise not to stuff themselves silly.

* * *

Deep in the forest, a couple of Narutos came around, surveying the area. Behind them, a few kilometers away, Team Seven continued to train, along with a few more Narutos. Naruto Prime though wasn't with his team, but accompanying the other blondes on their expedition: to see what the shrine has to offer.

Tazuna was right. Just a few paces, they had come to a very deep depression on the ground. It could fool any innocent traveler thinking they were standing on the edge of a mountain, but it was ridiculous. Wave Country was a flat land, an island contained by a surrounding body of water near the Fire country.

_**This depression is not natural…**_

"This depression is not natural…" Gwendolyn declared.

Naruto blinked, feeling an echo sounding in his head.

"What's not natural about it?" he asked.

"Read the wind," the Wind Mana stated.

Naruto Prime did so, and for some reason, he found nothing wrong. The wind chatted at him, telling him about the deep and wonderful wood life in the forest.

"Nothing's wrong…" Naruto replied.

"Read the wind again, this time, concentrate on the shrine."

The blonde closed his eyes, once again listening the wind as it chatted how many mango trees were bearing fruits, oddly out of season, or the few wildlife pro-creating somewhere at his west, a few kilometers away. Naruto thought it was rather weird the wind even tried to tell him that.

However, after a while, he did notice what had been bothering Gwendolyn. The winds kept talking about the surrounding forest… but absolutely nothing on the Shrine.

"That is odd…" the blonde muttered.

_**Let's go down brat. See what's there.**_

Naruto Prime and his band of wonder blondes jumped down. Being a ninja, plus that cool chakra-in-the-feet bit that he had gotten the hang of was helping him descend on the rather treacherous grounds. Kyuubi had mentioned that the land had unnatural scarring, meaning the depression wasn't made by nature.

"Whoa!" one of the Narutos declared, making everyone look at him. The blonde had been ahead of the pack, a scout of sorts, and he was the first to spot a rather huge boulder, and on the boulder, there was a strange sign.

It looked gibberish, but Naruto had remembered seeing some of its symbols before. Before he could even ask, Gwendolyn and Kyuubi beat him to it.

"A Seal…" the Wind Mana declared. "Alchemic variety."

_**From the looks of it… sealing, dispersal, and rejection. **_

_What the hell is that supposed to mean? _

_**Stupid brat. This Seal has three components. Sealing means it is sealing something inside. Dispersal means it's dispersing any energy coming in or out, hence why you couldn't hear anything in the wind about the Shrine. And lastly, rejection… because… **_

"OW!" Narutp Prime shouted immediately as he held his right arm. Another Naruto, a rather foolish one, tried to touch stone, only to feel a sudden magical burst of energy creep up his hand, painfully telling him to let go.

_**Because it keeps anything from going inside. **_

_Could have warned me… _

_**Shut it brat. You tried and touched it before you could hear my explanation. **_

_It was a clone!_

_**Which is technically you, so don't get cheeky. Anyway, before I was rudely interrupted, the boulder is not the only one there. There are a few more stones surrounding the area, and you'll see each have the same seals, forming a barrier. Whatever is inside the Shrine, some people didn't want it out. **_

_So… we leave it alone then?_

_**Normally, but look around you. The whole depression is throwing the Balance off. The ridges on the ground is unnatural. They are forming a spiral, going deeper and deeper to the Earth. **_

Naruto Prime blinked and looked around. What Kyuubi said was true. It was like the whole Shrine was…

"Looks like the whole Shrine is burrowing itself deeper and deeper," Gwendolyn finished the blonde's thoughts for him. "It's trying to disrupt the Seal, and its working. Some of its energy leaked out, and that's what we felt earlier."

"Will… will it break free? Whatever is in that Shrine…?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah… it will," the Wind Mana replied. "And judging from how deep the depression is, and how much time has passed… whatever is in there has a powerful magical energy. A Mana maybe. Whether it has been Corrupted or not… that is the question."

"How long before it escapes?"

"Who knows…" Gwendolyn replied. "But if it truly is a corrupted Mana, once it breaks free… it will look for revenge. I would have if I was sealed."

Naruto shuddered somewhat, remembering that he had a Mana sealed in him. A bastard fox to be exact.

"But you didn't!" Naruto reasoned. "I mean… I'm the only one you attacked… right?"

"Yeah, but only because I was isolated in an area where humans rarely pass by. This area isn't so isolated though. It's an open area, unlike a cave, and just a few kilometers away, there's a human populace. Blood and carnage, I can foresee."

_**Which means, brat, as an Alchemist, you have a responsibility here. **_

_You don't have to tell me. _

_**Of course I have to. If I don't the world might implode. **_

… _the whole world will… wha? _

_**Nothing. You're too dumb to get it. **_

_Hey! _

_**Anyway, since this area has been sealed with the use of alchemy, its logical to conclude that what's inside has been related to alchemy. As an Alchemist, you are partly responsible for what happens here now that you have uncovered this little facet. **_

_You want me to break the Seal? _

_**Break it? Goodness no, are you a moron!? If you break it, whatever is in there breaks free! No… we shall modify the seal, make it so that you can enter, and defeat whatever is inside, may it be corrupted Mana or a bad case of gas… **_

_Bad… case of… gas? _

_**Beans. Baked beans. **_

_You seriously lost me now. _

_**Heh. Still got it. **_

_Still got what? Mental instability? _

_**Heh… my alchemist's little vocabulary is growing. Well, whatever is inside this area, we'll have to stop it. **_

_Am… am I ready? _

_**You have me. And you have that Wind Mana. If you are ever in any real trouble, we'll help. But let's get a few things straight. Before you go in, cards shuffling, spear stabbing, bombs exploding, and all those things you do, you need to get up to speed with Seal arts. **_

_Who's gonna teach me though? _

_**I know of one person. A great powerful Mana. Striking, good-looking, dignified, charitable…**_

_Basically, you? _

_**Yes. I have experience in Alchemic Seals, hence why I never even bothered trying to escape from the detestable cage your heroic Yondaime put me in. Your mother helped with the design of the Seal on your stomach after all. Her best work, looking at it objectively. **_

_Oh… okay then. How long do you think I need to modify this Seal then? _

_**Depends on how competent you are on Seals. Hopefully, before we leave… so do take this seriously. Go back with your team, and train. Forget this Shrine for now. Concentrate only in your training. **_

_Yes. _

Naruto Prime and his band of blondes took one last look the shrine, before all of them disappeared, trailing back towards Team Seven, only to wait until the time was right. Unknown to them, inside the sealed shrine area, a pair of green glowing eyes watched him as he left, growling slightly.

**To Be Continued**

* * *

_Author's Notes: _

_Well, nothing much to say. I'm glad someone liked the bombardment technique of Naruto. I'm thinking of a more advanced version, using Wind to fly instead of using a henged spear. Anyway, I got inFAMOUS, almost two days before official street date, and I had a blast with it. Any PS3 owners who like open-world, superhero, and fun games (take a pick), be sure to get a copy! _

_Later! _


	10. Chapter 10

Kakashi looked worried.

Team Seven were training as hard as they could. Saki was so close in climbing on top of her tree, while Sakura herself looked hardier, running up and down the tree while taking deep breathes. Naruto… or Narutos, to be exact, were improving leaps and bounds.

However, that wasn't what worried him. What worried him was a group of Narutos on the ground, apparently studying some sort of seal. Many of them began to discuss it amongst themselves, pointing out a few lines and codes within the seal, yet they never seemed to agree on anything.

Curious, the jounin approached what seemed to be the leader of the group.

"Yo, Naruto," he greeted. "What are you guys doing?"

"Trying to modify a Seal," Naruto replied cheerily.

"For what?" Kakashi asked.

"To free…" and the boy paused, building up some would-be drama, "… the Kyuubi…!"

Kakashi just hit the blonde on top of his head, the joke unappreciated. One of the Naruto's climbing the tree suddenly yelp and fell down, rubbing the back part of his head.

"What the hell, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto Prime demanded, pointing an accusing finger towards the jounin.

"I don't appreciate jokes like that Naruto," Kakashi replied.

"What joke?" Naruto Prime asked, looking confused. Suddenly, it seemed to dawn on him, and then grinned. "Eh, you need to have a better sense of humor then, Kakashi-sensei," and he went back on climbing his tree.

"Interesting…" another Naruto, who was studying the Seal, claimed, his hand on his chin. His face was blank and serious.

"What is?" the jounin asked, somewhat unnerved to see Naruto looking like that.

"The more we use the Jade Shift Technique, the more we understand it."

"Oh, you're also figuring it out eh?" another Naruto, with almost the exact same expression, offered.

"What are you guys talking about?" Kakashi asked, scratching the back part of his head. He was expecting any of the solemn Narutos to answer, but instead, the one who answered was the Naruto that joked about releasing Kyuubi.

"They probably theorized that the Jade Shift Technique uses the Prime's personality," he said, grinning like a fox. "They could be right. I'm the playful, clever Naruto. They are the smarty-pants."

"Hey!" the two serious Narutos complained.

"What? It's better than calling you nerds," the grinning Naruto replied.

"Wait a minute…" Kakashi blinked. "You mean you clones have bits of his personality? Okay, I can buy that… but Naruto… clever and being… well, smart?"

"Well, to be honest, Naruto Prime is clever. He has a good mind when it comes to pranks, and also very clever when running away," the grinning Naruto replied.

"And Naruto Prime's mind was beginning to get worked as he began to expand his Alchemic knowledge," the solemn Naruto replied easily. "Alchemy is no picnic. All of the scientific processes along with Magical Lore knowledge isn't exactly a walk in the park. I am guessing we're the younger personas."

"Huh… who would have guessed?" Kakashi looked around. "Wonder what other personalities are there…"

Leaving the group of Narutos on their own, Kakashi had approached a group of Narutos that were resting in another area. They were, seemingly, looking intently at Saki and Sakura working out, whispering amongst themselves.

"Man… Sakura-chan looks absolutely great sweating it out…" the Naruto drooled.

"I think Sasuke-teme is more of my type… did you see how big her breasts are?" another Naruto declared.

"I think Ino's much better than both… she's got a great set of legs."

"I… I think I like Hinata-chan more."

"I like Kurenai."

All other Narutos looked at the Naruto who spoke last.

"What?" the Naruto that claimed to like Kurenai looked confused. "Her breasts are even bigger than Sasuke-temes! Plus the legs…!"

"Ooh boy…" Kakashi, who had been listening in, muttered as he steered away from them. At least he knew Naruto was a healthy boy in that aspect.

The training continued, and the improvements were now showing. Naruto and Saki were slowly climbing higher and higher, with the blonde overtaking his current rival because of his training techniques… but Saki wasn't the type to quit. She worked herself even harder, trying to catch up. Sakura took less time resting, and began to move faster when running up and down her tree.

Of course, all the training was exhausting to the genins. Saki and Naruto both ate with gusto, almost making themselves sick by the speed of trying to shove as much food as they needed to their mouths, while Sakura, although somewhat more conserved and modest, dug in on her own pace.

Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter was more than happy to see her food enjoyed so much, but there was only one other person who seemed to not enjoy the humble festive.

"You guys are morons!" Inari shouted. "You're just wasting your time!"

"Yeah, yeah… hey, you eating that, bastard?" Naruto looked towards the fish that Saki had been getting from, incensing the young boy as he was ignored.

Four more days passed, and the Narutos were finally cracking on the Seal. Redrawing it, and then presenting it to Kyuubi (who saw it through Naruto Prime's eyes), the Fox Mana gave a nod, concluding that the Seal modification wouldn't end the world, or something silly.

It was a good time too. One of the Narutos finally got on top of his tree, and the rest followed suit, with Naruto Prime also taking it to the top. Saki followed soon afterwards, not wanting to be beat up too badly, while Sakura just looked at her two teammates with awe.

"Alright! Kick ass!" Naruto Prime exclaimed. He had mastered the exercise, and he also finished doing the Seal modification.

"Good work team!" Kakashi declared proudly, smiling at his students. "I still want you to continue. Build more stamina. Saki, Naruto… time to do what Sakura does… running up and down the tree trunks. Anyways… lets go and take a well-earned rest!"

"Awesome!"

"Hn…"

"Isn't that great, Sasuke-kun?"

Their celebratory remarks weren't lost, however, as Inari seemed to take offence once more and sat up, looking at them.

"Are you all a bunch of morons? You're all going to die! Why are you wasting your time training!?" he demanded.

Naruto looked a bit put off.

"Sheesh… you're annoying, you brat," the blonde muttered. "Always the same thing…" and then, he squeaked, trying to imitate Inari's voice, "'You guys are morons! You will die!' Change the damn record already."

"Who do you think you are, with your always goofy expression and annoying smile?" Inari exploded. "You wouldn't understand how I feel! Some of us doesn't have nice lives like you!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed, taking Saki by surprise. Kakashi tensed, knowing Inari had hit a slight nerve towards the blonde.

"I'd rather have my so-called 'nice' life than becoming an overbearing drama queen like you!" Naruto exclaimed immediately, his voice so cold it took Sakura, Tazuna and Tsunami by surprise. "You what… lost someone? Sure, I wouldn't understand that. I grew up alone most of my life. I had no one to back to, unlike you, so don't start lecturing me about life, you goddamned brat!"

"Naruto!" Sakura looked horrified. "That's enough!"

"Yeah, I had enough," the blonde whispered, standing up, and then going towards the door.

"Hey… where are you going, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"Training."

* * *

Training was… well, inaccurate to describe what Naruto was planning. Naruto Prime looked at his group of clones. He nodded towards them. It was finally time.

Kyuubi had taught him the basics of Alchemic Sealing, and its theories. Along with a few well placed lectures more specifically on mixed Seal Functions, and its Laws, a few of his clones had made a modification which satisfied the great Fox enough to warrant a try.

Now was a good time as any. There was still light, and he had already mastered tree climbing, and his fuse was lit. The kid had been annoying for the past few days, and Naruto tended to ignore the brat, but just earlier was the last straw. Eager to dish out some pain, he figured the best way to do so was break through a barrier, face off with a powerful unknown adversary inside.

Hey, no one argued Naruto was a clear thinker most of the time.

Spreading his clones around the surrounding boulders, all of them, in sync, grabbed out a brush and ink and began to modify the Seal. Some Narutos were slower than the rest, but it was fine, because nothing happened until the final part.

Drawing the modifications wasn't enough. To finish the job, the Narutos would then bring forth energy from their hands, and with Kyuubi's instructions, the Seal was finally changed. There were no fancy light shows, or ominous rumbling… underneath them, the ground shifted, and then, nothing.

Not exactly sure if it worked, the Narutos looked at each other, wondering what to do next. The self-proclaimed Great Mana made its opinion known…

_**Just go in already, you damned coward. **_

_Shut it! I was just being cautious! _

Naruto Prime took a tentative step forward, and passed the boulder with no difficulty. The barrier he, or more specifically, one of his clones that had encountered days before was gone. Confident at that, the other Narutos followed suit, and began to enter circle.

The place was huge. Naruto Prime knew it, but it was the first time he appreciated the largeness of their surroundings. He had clones a few kilometers away from him, all of them looking around, searching for a clue to help them identify what awaited them.

The Shrine was in a bad shape. While there seemed no man-made damage, Nature wasn't merciful. The place was literally littered with cobbled stones tiles scattered around, indicating that there was a road here before. The small buildings were destroyed, the rooftops seemingly toppled by wind… but there was something else that caught Naruto Prime's eye.

Scratch marks on trees. Empty places of soil, indicating there was a trees planted on that place before something forced it to turn to a crater.

"Careful, I am sensing heavy magical energies around," Gwendolyn, the Wind Mana sitting on Naruto Prime's shoulder, warned.

"So… is it really a Mana presence?" Naruto asked.

"I'm beginning to think so…" the Wind Mana replied. "And… I'm not sure its friendly."

"Corrupted?"

"Yeah… probably," Gwendolyn replied.

"That su… AGH!"

Naruto Prime suddenly screamed, clutching his arm.

"Naruto!" the Wind Mana looked at his partner. "What's wrong?"

All the other Narutos seemed to understand the situation immediately. They all suddenly ran, converging towards a specific location, while Naruto Prime stood up, the pain finally fading.

"Damn it… one of my clones stumbled upon our target… got hurt," Naruto Prime declared. He looked at his Mana partner, "Let's go!"

Nodding, Gwendolyn followed the blonde towards the location, wondering what kind of monster they had faced. When the clearing cleared, the only thing they could see was Narutos facing off against what seemed like a giant tree.

It was huge, with two glowing eyes, its head wrapped around purple and green leaves. On its side were two large branches acting as its arms, breaking to smaller yet sharp looking branches that seemed to act as its hands. On the bottom, two large roots acting as its legs and feet.

"Whoa…" Naruto Prime looked up. "It's a tree."

_**No duh, Sherlock. Its another Corrupted Mana… **_

"Heh… if that's the case…!!"

Narutos suddenly backed away from the battle, instantly knowing what Naruto Prime wanted. Grabbing out their cards, they suddenly shouted, flipping the deck from one hand to another, "NARUTO SPECIAL! SHUFFLE TIME!"

_**I wish you'd change the stupid name! **_

Ignoring the Fox's protest, all the Naruto's threw their decks towards, the cards scattering in the the darkening sky, attaching themselves towards the Tree's trunk, arms, and legs. All the Narutos surrounding the Tree then pulled hard, forcing the tree in its place. It growled.

"Alright! Lets get the Purification on the way!" Naruto Prime declared, spreading his own cards in front of him. Grabbing the Tree's Card, he then began to pour in his energy unto it, hoping, like what happened to Gwendolyn, it would purify the Mana.

However…

"Um… boss… its not working!!" one of the Narutos declared as nothing seemed to happen. The Tree just struggled to free itself.

"What the hell…?" Naruto Prime stopped the Purification Process, confused.

_**Hmm… I guess its far too late. The Corruption has spread over the Mana completely, encasing it. Purifying it won't work… you'll have to destroy the body of that monster to free the Mana inside. **_

"Oh, crap…" Naruto Prime muttered.

The other Narutos screamed, the tree finally overpowering them. With a flick of its arms, three Narutos flew away, and soon, two hands of the Tree finally broke free. Fortunately, its legs were still trapped by six more Narutos that held on, but they knew it'd break free.

"Aim for its legs!" Naruto Prime shouted, his hands grabbing all the thrown Narutos, and began to arrange them so they would surround the Tree monster.

_**Its made of wood, so your best bet is fire! **_

_I know, I'm not that stupid! _

_**Could have fooled me. **_

_Shut it, bastard-fox! _

Six Narutos, those that weren't holding the tree in its place, each threw six Fire Bombs towards the legs. They all exploded into a large crimson flame, burning its stumps it was using for legs. The Tree roared in anger as it collapsed, its charred wooden stumps now useless.

"YES!" Naruto Prime screamed in victory. Now that the legs were gone, the tree would tumble, losing all mobility. All they had to do was cut off its arms, and systematically just finish of the wood monster…

_**Seems like it won't be that easy… **_

Kyuubi's voice brought him back from his thoughts. He had expected the tree on its back already, but apparently, it seemed to have done something else. It was still standing vertically, its body seemingly burrowing on the ground. When the smoke cleared, Naruto Prime noticed that their enemy seemed to have planted itself on the ground, roots forming above the soil.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me…" the blonde muttered.

Before he could say anymore, the Tree's mouth suddenly opened, and a bright light came from within it. Suddenly, balls of magical energy suddenly shot out of its mouth, splitting up, and converging to all other Narutos.

"WHAT THE HELL…!!"

The blondes, including Prime immediately formed a wall in front of them, using their cards as a ball came at them with almost blinding speed. It impacted their defensive forms with a rather powerful explosion, sending all of them back a few paces.

"Whoa! That was strong!!" Naruto Prime declared, seeing some of the Narutos on the ground, even with their defensive shield, they had been driven towards the soil. The only reason why Naruto Prime was still standing was because Gwendolyn had supported him.

_**A spread attack… powerful one at that. If it hit you… you'd have died. **_

_I know! I know! _

Naruto did what he had to do. Spreading his cards in the air, he then recalled all his clones, and canceled the Jade Shift Technique. His clones disappeared from sight.

_**Good… we can't have your clones getting hurt. You're much better off facing it alone. Now… got a plan? **_

_I could try and burn it using more Fire Bombs… but I used most of it against that eyebrow-less freak. _

_**Well… just remember… Wind feeds Fire. **_

Naruto blinked before he felt Kyuubi remain silent. He grinned. A plan began to form in his head, taking to heart that he was limited on using his dwindling number of Fire Bombs and then, his earlier training too would come in place. However, for the plan to work, he needed Gwendolyn.

"Hey… Gwendolyn-chan… I need your help," Naruto declared, looking at his Wind Mana partner. Gwendolyn just nodded.

His whole body glowed, and suddenly a cyclone appeared around the blonde. When it died down, he was wearing the armor clothing, signifying that he and his Mana had combined. On his right hand, Gwendolyn's spear.

"It's been a while since I wore this…" Naruto proclaimed, looking at himself. Last time he had worn it, was when he faced off against Kakashi. "Meh… I hope it'll be better this time."

Gwendolyn giggled, "Don't worry Naruto. This time… you're ready."

"Alright… let's cut this tree to toothpicks!"

Naruto then suddenly shot forward, pointing his spear towards the tree. Suddenly, a narrow yet long cyclone appeared from the tip of the spear, smashing against the tree. It groaned as a new hole appeared in its body from where the attack had hit, and Naruto wasn't done. He launched more wind barrages, each hitting on different places, forming more holes.

The Tree opened its mouth, and again, magical energy balls launched itself at him. Unlike earlier, they didn't split, which made it easier for Naruto to dodge. Passing by them, he then felt the wind warning him about something approaching him from behind, and looking back, he saw the projectiles he had dodged were following him.

It seemed Wind reading was more effective and powerful when he was combined with Gwendolyn.

When they got near, Naruto just jumped away, making the balls hit the ground where he stood. With the Wind Armor, the blonde felt light and fast, faster than even before. He dashed towards the tree, one of his arms going towards the Storage Seals in his sleeves, and grabbed out a Fire Bomb. His left foot stepped on the tree's trunk, and using his training, he immediately pushed out the right amount of chakra on the sole of his feet for it to stick.

"RAAAHHH!" Naruto screamed in effort as he began to climb the tree, putting a Fire Bomb in random holes he had done earlier while continuously climbing the monster's trunk. When he was out of bombs, he just continued his way to the top.

The Tree wouldn't just let him though. Its two large branches acting as arms came at him, but Naruto, reading the wind, easily side stepped the first incoming branch, and then jumped away on the second branch, using it as a footstool to get as high as he could.

Naruto, mid-air on top of the tree, readied his spear, his smile becoming more and more pronounced as time passed. The bombs that Naruto had planted suddenly exploded, and since they were placed in different locations, the flames spread quickly, eating away the wooden body of the monster, but the blonde was not done.

"EAT THIS!" he shouted as he pointed the spear down. A massive cyclone emerged from the tip of the weapon, covering the flaming Tree. The wind, instead of blowing out the flames, fed them with oxygen, fanning it, turning a simple blaze into a massive cyclone inferno. The Tree could only shout as its body was slowly eaten away, as the blonde landed safely on the ground a few paces away, his clothes now back to normal as he watched the Flames spread and contained.

_**Hmm… at a time like this, you should say something smart. **_

_Huh…? Why? _

_**Just for style points. **_

"Um…" Naruto thought about it for a moment. He then pointed at the Tree, and declared, "If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen!"

_**Eh… seven points. **_

_Hmph… shut up. _

Gwendolyn looked at Naruto, then suddenly giggled.

"What?" the blonde asked.

"Couldn't you do a more original quip?" the Wind Mana asked.

"Oh kami, not you too?" Naruto sighed.

The Wind Mana giggled again, though this time, she was cut short by the bright light suddenly emanating upon the burning carcass of the Tree monster. The blackened sooth exploded outwards, and Naruto was temporarily blinded by the light that he covered himself until his eyes could adjust.

"I'm… free…"

Naruto blinked. The light had resided, and Naruto came face to face with a…

"Wow…" he muttered.

The Mana was another beautiful woman… though younger looking than Gwendolyn. She probably had one of the most amazing thighs and legs he had seen in a while… but then again, this was the first time he had seen close up a woman's legs. Her clothes were oddly a mix of green shades, giving her an organic look, covering only her arms, upper body and a small part of her lower body, leaving her legs exposed. She didn't even wear shoes.

Upon a more general inspection, Naruto noticed the Mana was blonde, her hair done in numerous curls, and on top of her head was a crown of flowers. Her ears were also slightly elongated, her brown eyes sleepy as she yawned, stretching herself.

"Whoa…" Naruto muttered, noticing she was carrying a weapon. It looked like a crossbow, but it was rather large, three-fourth's Naruto's current size, and had a large red jewel on the tip.

"Hey…" the blonde Mana noticed his presence. She then flew towards him, showing beautiful butterfly wings on her back. "You're an alchemist?"

"Um… yeah," Naruto replied.

"Thank you. I'm Yggdrasil…"

"Uh… Yeeg-what?"

The blonde Mana giggled. "Call me Mercedes."

"Naruto," the blonde ninja smiled. "Ninja extraordinaire and learning Alchemist!"

"I see… you have a Wind Mana with you, and another inside of you," Mercedes nodded. "I'm a Wood Mana, guardian of nature, and the wielder of Riblam, the Piercing One."

"Riblam…?"

Mercedes then pointed at her weapon.

"Long ago, I was made the guardian of the Shrine, as old Alchemist partner retired here… but when he had died, and time began to pass, I was slowly being corrupted. Not wanting to get anyone hurt, I had taught the care-takers of the Shrine to seal the area… and I went to a long sleep… but then, you can see what happened."

"Wow…" Naruto declared.

"You're pretty powerful," Mercedes commented. "I'd like to join you, a great alchemist, on your journey."

Naruto looked towards Gwendolyn, who was now in her full size, and she nodded. Naruto then looked back at Mercedes, and smiled at her.

"We'd be glad to have you."

"That's great! I, the Wood Mana Mercedes, wielder if Riblam, shall pledge myself to you," Mercedes then began to glow. She winked. "Take care of me."

The Wood Mana vanished, leaving Naruto bewildered as he felt something in his hands… it was the Riblam. Like Gwendolyn's spear, it weighed almost nothing, and he could feel the Earth and the Trees' energy roaming around him.

His clothing had changed too. He wore a full body suit of loose clothing of different green shades, gloves and shoes. It wasn't armored, but for some reason, Naruto felt something special about his clothes.

"I'll tell you the basics of your new abilities…" Mercedes' voice whispered. "Riblam is a magical bow with piercing qualities. Its power depends on your thoughts… it can stun or kill targets. You can shoot out bolts of energy out in rapid succession, or charge it for a burst shot that have homing capabilities."

Naruto nodded, and looked around him. Taking aim, he went for one of the destroyed structures around the Shrine, and pulled the trigger of his bow. Immediately, two shots came out of rapid successions, making holes on the sidewall. Taking aim once more, he held the trigger this time, and the red jewel began to glow as energy gathered around it, and when the blonde released the trigger, a massive burst of energy came out, breaking down to multiple bolt energies that demolished the wall he was shooting.

"AWESOME!" Naruto was delighted, and then, began to jump around, shooting things at random, much to Mercedes' surprise.

"Hey… wait… I have to explain your clothes…"

"WOOHOO!!!" Naruto bounded around, using his chakra to climb out of the depression where the Shrine was, and began to shoot more and more bolts out. He didn't notice Mercedes separating herself from him, his clothes turning back to normal, too excited as he was having a blast with a weapon that was so easy to use.

"… I take that back. He's not that great of an alchemist. He's still a kid…" Mercedes muttered.

Gwendolyn, who was beside the Wood Mana, giggled. "You'll get used to him. He's just a bit excited. Besides, the woods here are practically empty. He won't shoot anyone by accident."

"That's all good… but he has to know where the energy from those bolts come from…"

"Oh? Where?"

"From himself."

* * *

Crickets chirped at the Tazuna home, with Saki looking outside, watching for any signs of orange or yellow. It was already ten, five hours since Naruto had left to 'train', and there were no signs of him. She sighed.

"Don't worry about Naruto… he probably exhausted himself," Kakashi declared, arriving behind Saki, who didn't seem to even acknowledge his presence.

"He probably did something stupid," was all she said.

* * *

In another part of the woodland area, Naruto was snoring, unknowingly spending all his energy after ten consecutive Burst Shots. Kyuubi could only describe the subtle and artful image of his alchemic partner suddenly dropping on the ground, empty of any energy…

_**What a frigging moron… **_

* * *

Haku smiled as the sun came down on the woodland area. The apprentice of Zabuza took time to watch nature do its work, before gathering herbs. The Devil of the Mist was recovering well, but he still needed herbs to speed up the process, and that's what brought Haku out today.

With a kimono, the fake hunter-nin began to collect the necessary herbs, and putting them on the basket Haku brought. A few paces away, Zabuza's apprentice noticed something off…

The whole wooded area was a mostly wash of brown and green… then, she spotted orange, black and yellow up ahead. Ready and alert, Haku took a few steps forward, readying a senbon needle just in case… and spotted Naruto on the ground, sleeping.

His innocent face made Haku stare at it for a while, studying it. Blonde hair, six whisker marks running on his cheeks, his clothes, and his forehead protector. It was one of the genins in Kakashi's team.

Naruto groaned as he felt a slight pressure on his shoulder. He tried to force it away, it was separating him from the big bowl of ramen the gods have given him. It took a few more shakes before he exited the dream world, and was greeted by sunlight, and a strikingly beautiful face.

"WAHH!" Naruto screamed as he sat up.

"Hey, its okay!" Haku said steadily, trying to placate the blonde.

Naruto blinked a few more times, then looked around. He laughed nervously, scratching the back part of his head.

"Sorry… you just surprised me," Naruto explained.

Haku giggled. "Aren't you a bit too young to be sleeping here? What are you doing here?"

"Um… training, I guess," Naruto replied.

"Training for what? Are you a ninja?"

"Yup, sure am!" the blonde replied proudly. "I'm training to be the strongest there is, and become the greatest Hokage ever!"

Haku just smiled. "Why do you seek strength…? Isn't your strength enough?"

"Well… no," Naruto replied, looking a bit solemn. His mind flashed towards the day Mizuki had tricked him into stealing a scroll from the Hokage's Office, with Iruka almost dying on him. "To protect my friends… I have to get stronger."

Zabuza's apprentice looked at the blonde's face, and nodded slightly with understanding.

"You will become stronger then…" Haku smiled more warmly.

"Thanks miss," Naruto said.

"Well, I must be going now," the fake hunter-nin declared, standing up and walked away from Naruto but Haku looked back at the blonde before crossing the clearing. "By the way… I'm a boy."

Naruto blinked, then smirked. "Hah! Like that will fool me! Fool me once, shame on me… not fooling me twice!"

"Huh?"

"I'm not going to get fooled. Sasuke-bastard was one thing, but you're obviously a girl!" the blonde declared. He then waved at Haku. "Hope we meet again miss! I think we probably will!"

Zabuza's apprentice just smiled, and turned away, her thoughts and her expression darkening with every step. The blonde was right though… they would meet again, though not in better circumstances.


	11. Chapter 11

There were times that Sakura loved normalcy. It was, after all, her anchor gripping her to reality. Being a ninja was a hard life, with constant training (not that she did), worrying about her femininity (blood and make-up don't mix… even though she had yet to kill, really), and worrying about Sasuke-kun being taken away by some other female (which, if anyone who knew the truth, it was impossible, unless she swings that way).

It was simple really. Kakashi was always hours late, Sasuke-kun was always cute, and Naruto was pretty much annoying. Therefore, when she tried waking the boy up one early morning, she knew it was normal for him to make it hard for her.

"Naruto…" Sakura growled, shaking the blonde boy. "Wake up! Kakashi-sensei is calling us!"

Usually, he'd moan about getting more sleep. It was quite normal, really. He had made it known he was a heavy sleeper, and to make it worse, he had spent last night in heavy training.

Today was a bit different. Yes, he'll moan about getting more sleep… but with an added word, he would shake her foundations, and make her question her reality.

"Five more minutes, Gwendolyn-chan…" he muttered sleepily.

"WAH!" Sakura jumped back. One thought appearing to her head: Who the heck was Gwendolyn-chan? No one in their class was named that way… the name was too… foreign. Too long. Too odd.

"Oi, Sakura! Woke him up yet?" Kakashi called from outside the room. Sakura rushed suddenly outside, closed the door behind her, and looked at her teammate-slash-crush and teacher.

"Sensei… do you know anyone named Gwendolyn?" she asked.

Kakashi and Saki looked at each other for a moment, confused.

"No, Sakura. Why?" Kakashi asked.

"Naruto moaned her name out."

"Oh?" Kakashi stole a look at Saki, and smiled behind his mask when he saw her reaction. Her fists closed immediately, her eyes twitched while they were closed, and there was a slight killing intent leaked out. It was well hidden, but for a veteran ninja like him, it was easy to read.

Some type of jealousy eh? He playfully added more fuel to the fire.

"Must be a local girl then…" Kakashi stated. "Heh… didn't know Naruto was such a Casanova."

"I seriously doubt that," Sakura declared, deadpanned. Saki agreed somewhat. Naruto was anything but a playboy.

"Is that jealousy, Sakura?" Kakashi seemed to smirk.

"No!" Sakura fumed.

"Don't worry, Sakura," Kakashi's visible eye smiled. "I'm sure one day you'll have some boy whisper your name when he's asleep."

Sakura looked like she was about to deck Kakashi… and the jounin thought was about to. Instead, she growled, and stomped away, leaving Kakashi to scratch the back part of his head, and Saki who still seemed undecided on what to do.

"So… do you wanna wake up our number-one surprising ninja up?" the jounin asked.

"No…" Saki muttered somewhat coldly, and followed after Sakura, his two arms on her pockets, bringing out the full Sasuke-character out.

Kakashi's hand went for his vest pocket, and brought out an orange book. He giggled. He reminded himself to write to a certain Toad Sage about this… it was Icha-Icha material.

* * *

"Cha… hahaha!" Mercedes tried to cover her laughter, but failed. In her mini-form, she just floated around the room slightly. She looked towards Gwendolyn, "Aww, ain't that cute? You getting sweet with your Alchemist?"

Gwendolyn blushed slightly, but took it with stride. "As my partner, if he asks… I'll oblige. But knowing him… it'll take years before the idea hits him. He has a very… odd view about the opposite sex."

"Oh?" Mercedes raised an inquiring eyebrow. "How so?"

"You know ninja techniques, yes?" at this, Mercedes nodded. "Well, Naruto, for some reason, thought of using a henge, which is a transformation technique, to turn him to a naked girl."

"Hohoho!"

"Yeah… normally, it's not so odd. Thirteen year old boy, hormones starting out with puberty… but he has this crush on that pink-haired gorilla…"

Mercedes snorted, and began laughing again. "First time I heard you actually insulting someone!"

"She's by far the worst example on being feminine," Gwendolyn replied. "I'm trying to give him more… worthy… receiver of his affection. Anyway, he has a crush on her… and from what I've seen… it's purely non-sexual."

"Oh?"

"Okay… maybe he might have some sexual thoughts, especially when his Jade Shift Clones were just leering at his teammates when they trained, but most of the time, he treats it like its something platonic."

Mercedes smiled a bit. "Gwendolyn… you know what I think? I think he cannot think of that Sakura girl in a sexual way because there are more attractive women around him."

She then pointed at herself, and towards the Wind Mana.

"Are you saying we're desensitizing him?" Gwendolyn looked thoughtful for a moment. "Makes sense, in a way. He did see that Uchiha girl naked once."

Mercedes raised an eyebrow once more. "How did that go?"

"She burnt his apartment down," Gwendolyn smiled somewhat.

"Huh… a bit extreme, isn't it?" the Wood Mana declared.

"She's an Uchiha. Extreme is kinda normal for them," Gwendolyn shrugged.

"Ah…" Mercedes then sat at the edge of the small bed, looking at Naruto's sleeping form. "Will he be okay…? I mean… Uchihas are a bit of bad news for Alchemists."

"Honestly… I'm nervous about that Uchiha too. Granted, she's young… but everyone was young at one time," Gwendolyn sighed. "On a good note… she's the last remaining Uchiha… she along with her older brother."

"Huh? What happened?"

"Older brother killed the whole clan," Gwendolyn shrugged.

"Wow… just wow…" the Wood Mana sighed once more. She then stole a look at the sleeping blonde. "Shouldn't we waken him?"

"I say let him sleep," the Wind Mana smiled somewhat, running her hands through his hair. "He trained even harder last night… that tree climbing endurance run along with your training regime with Riblam."

"Well, you have seniority, forming a pact before me… but…" Mercedes smiled, "… if you wanna wake him up, I got something in mind."

* * *

"WHPHM!!" Naruto woke up with a start, feeling someone trying to suffocate him through the mouth, slithering some sort of flexible chord along his oral area. He couldn't move, as there was something pinning him there. He opened his eyes, wondering who his attacker was, and after being temporarily blinded by the sun, all he saw was a woman's face, her chocolate brown eyes looking back at him with mischief.

Naruto immediately backed away, pushing Mercedes off him.

"What the… what the hell!?" Naruto blushed, curling to a small ball, staring at his Mana who had been on top of him. "What was that!?"

"What? It was a kiss," Mercedes replied naturally, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"I know it was a kiss!" Naruto half-shouted, and then began to poke his two index fingers together, not unlike how Hinata would act. "That was… my… first…"

"Yup! Aren't you happy?" Mercedes grinned. "Your first kiss with a beautiful woman like me. With tongue too!"

"… with what!!?"

"Tongue," she replied, naturally again.

"Bu… but… I mean… wha… I… ah…" and Naruto just sat there, mumbling.

"Heh… wasn't even his partner for a week, and I got to shut him down," Mercedes declared rather proudly.

"Oh yes… how skillful of you to shut up a thirteen year old by stealing his first kiss, and not to mention, Frenching him with that said kiss," Gwendolyn rolled her eyes. "Yes. You are the pride of Mana… of females, everywhere!"

Mercedes had the decency to blush.

"You…" Naruto looked towards the Wind Mana, "… did you put her up to this?"

"No," Gwendolyn replied honestly. "She said she had a trick to wake you up… didn't know what it was until she did it."

"Bu… but my first kiss!" Naruto complained. He groaned. "It was supposed to be with Sakura-chan!"

Gwendolyn sighed silently. "Naruto… this may sound cruel, but it was just a kiss. It didn't mean anything."

"It could… if you want," Mercedes piqued, winking somewhat exaggeratedly towards Naruto, who flushed red.

"Don't even start," the Wind Mana growled towards her. "Well… for all intents and purposes, she did wake you up. You have to join your team."

"They left without me?" Naruto frowned, and stood up. He looked for his pants and shoes, and began to dress. "They training?"

"No, Naruto. It seems that its guard duty for now," the Wind Mana replied.

"Oh…" Naruto finished off with his trench coat, leaving it unbuttoned. "Bridge eh? Alright… let's go!"

Jumping out of the window, Naruto moved swiftly, putting chakra on his legs to speed his process, and entered the woodland area near Tazuna's residence. Around him, unseen by normal eyes, two glowing Manas followed him.

Jumping far and high, Naruto built up enough momentum to just blow his way towards the bridge when Gwendolyn and Mercedes seemed to take a pause.

"Naruto… wait!" the Wind Mana declared.

Naruto tripped on a branch, surprised at the sudden order, but thankfully recovered when one of his feet touched the tree. Sticking in the branch, he looked towards his Mana partners with a confused face.

"What is it?" he asked.

"The wind is picking up something…" Gwendolyn declared, looking back at the direction towards Tazuna's house.

"The trees are whispering too," Mercedes frowned. "It seems there are two morons walking towards the house we were in, slashing everything with their swords. They even killed a poor pig."

"The winds do not like these men," Gwendolyn declared, her ears and wings twitching slightly. "They have something… untoward… in mind."

Naruto smirked.

"Hehe… then let's do something more 'untowards' to them."

* * *

Inari felt sick. Just a few moments ago, two men had come in, kicking down the door, demanding that see Tsunami. The boy knew them… they were Gatou's personal bodyguards. In shock, he was slow on the uptake, angering the men. In their anger, they grabbed the boy, and put a blade to his throat.

The boy froze. He didn't know what to do. He just kept still, hoping they wouldn't kill him. When his mom arrived, she had begged them to leave him alone. She told them she'd go with them, all they had to do was leave Inari alone.

The boy shivered. His stomach turned inside out when he remembered what he felt when his mom sacrificed herself for him.

Relief.

The disgusted when he realized it.

The blonde idiot's words hit him. He called Inari an overbearing drama queen. He hinted slightly that he was a sniveling coward.

He was right.

Anger rose from him. Righteous or hated anger, the boy didn't know. All he knew was the hate stemmed from himself. It took a few moments for him to realize the hate was not directed towards anyone except one person: himself.

He grabbed a kitchen knife. He ran towards the door. He shouted, at the very top of his voice, the bravest, the stupidest, and most intense thing the boy his age had ever said.

"LET GO OF MY MOM!"

The two samurai-wannabes looked towards the boy glaring at them, a knife in his hand.

"Look at that… someone grew a spine!" one of the men declared.

"Heh… it seems the brat wants to play," the second one laughed. He unsheathed his sword.

"Wait a moment!" Tsunami recoiled. "You said you'd leave my son alone! If you don't, I'll bite my tongue and kill my-"

She didn't finish as the man who was holding her captive knocked her out with a quick punch behind her neck. Watching her crumble down to unconsciousness, the man let her go, and gave a smile to his partner.

"Well, go for it, man," he declared.

"Heh…" and the second man pointed his sword towards the kid. "You're shaking brat."

Inari swallowed. It was true. The knife on his hand moved erratically. He tried to control it.

"Regretting standing up to me?" the man sneered. "You should be. Be the bawling little coward you are. You'll live longer. Unless you want to follow that dead hero of yours. I heard he was like your father or something… hah… what a stupid man."

"Don't talk about him like THAT!" Inari screamed and charged at him.

"What an idiot!" the man laughed as he raised his sword. One strike… that was all it was going to take, and the kid'll be sliced in half.

The wind suddenly rushed towards him. The man spotted something bright come up to him. It was too fast to dodge. It hit him in the head directly, so powerful it launched him in the air and dropped him to the ground in a unflattering heap.

"Wha…!?" Inari stopped in his charge. The man who held Tsunami hostage too looked confused, and with his confusion, was open to the second bolt shot, hitting him from behind. He too flew and fell towards the ground, unmoving.

"Sheesh… cowards," Naruto declared suddenly, his face appearing from one of the branches of the trees in the woodland near the area.

"Y-you!" Inari pointed at him, surprised.

"Yup," Naruto grinned, "me."

As he slid from the tree, Inari noticed that Naruto's clothes weren't the normal kind. It seemed to flip in colors, arranging themselves to where he stood. As he landed on the roots of the tree, his clothes turned from dark green to dirty brown. He then walked towards him.

"Whoa…" Inari blinked, watching his clothes change from a mirage of colors, from brown settling to leaf green. On his right hand and shoulders was a big bow gun with a red jewel at the tip.

"You know what kid? I think I'm starting to like you," Naruto stated, his clothes and bow gun vanishing from sight, replacing them with his regular dark orange clothing. "You may be some overdramatic drama queen, but defending your mom against better armed and skilled creeps is alright in my book."

"Naruto-san…!" Inari's eyes began to form tears. "I… I was about to let them take mom… I didn't fight earlier…"

Naruto blinked, then smirked. "So what? In the end, you went and charged in to get her back. Seriously, Inari, you over think things. It's not what you might have done… its what you were going and willing to do. Simple."

Inari looked at the blonde, crying a bit more freely. After a few moments, he nodded in understanding.

"Good. Get your mom somewhere safe," Naruto stated. "Goons attacking you guys now… your granddad might be in trouble. Gotta go!"

Disappearing once more in the wooden area, Inari gently woke up his mother. Then, he decided that he would help the blonde ninja and his friends. After all, he was the one that gave the boy the true meaning of courage.

* * *

In the unfinished bridge, trouble did start brewing. When Tazuna, along with Kakashi and the two genins of Team Seven arrived, they noticed that it was foggy, and the workers were all unconscious.

The Devil of the Mist, plus his apprentice finally arrived.

Saki had been told by Kakashi to take care of the apprentice. With the training they had done in days, she was pretty confident about going toe to toe with the masked figure. Even Zabuza seemed impressed at her speed.

"Seems your student has equaled Haku in terms of speed," Zabuza looked at Kakashi.

"My students are very talented," the joinin replied truthfully.

"While that's true… he cannot hope to defeat Haku."

"My student already is proving to be good at deceiving even an experienced ninja like you," Kakashi grinned under his mask. Saki had seemingly fooled even the great Devil of the Mist about her sex, and as a bonus, gave Kakashi a rather confusing barb to the man.

"Now you're overestimating him," Zabuza growled slightly.

"If you only knew the truth," Kakashi declared, uncovering his Sharingan eye.

Zabuza didn't even flinch as he saw the pinwheel eye spinning menacingly at his direction. He closed his eyes, his hands forming a seal.

"I will borrow your words, Copy Cat," Zabuza declared as the mist suddenly thickened, covering him. "Your tricks won't work twice on me."

With that, he vanished from sight, leaving Kakashi alone to look around to see where he would strike.

"Sakura… stay on guard," Kakashi ordered. "Protect Tazuna."

"Y-yes… Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura shivered slightly, took out her kunai, and went on a guarded position in front of their client. She hoped her Sasuke-kun was safe.

On a few paces away, Saki growled as she tried to dodge ice needles coming down on him. Whoever this masked figure was, the skill was definitely there. Zabuza had commented on how her speed matched Haku's… but this Haku had more than speed. The fact the masked nin could do jutsus using half-seals was disconcerting enough, now, she watched in horror, the Haku had some sort of bloodline as well.

Appearing out of thin air, mirrors made of ice surrounded her, trapping her along with the masked figure, who then steps into a mirror. All the surrounding figures formed Haku's image, and Saki, for some reason, felt the expenditure of large amounts of chakra.

Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she could see a blur. It was slight, but very fast movement, and then another, and another. Before she could try and focus on the minute movements, she screamed as she felt sharp pins penetrating her skin.

Needles, she saw, catching her shoulder slightly. She reacted automatically… grabbing her kunai out, and automatically trying to block more barrages of needles. But it came too quick, and they came in at large numbers. Before she knew it, needles began to stick out in various parts of her body.

She began to move, dodge, roll, anything to get her away from the needle volley. She had no idea what kind of jutsu or what effect this Haku's bloodline was, but it was clear it was suicide to stay inside the ice dome. Scrambling out towards one of slits in between the mirrors, she was about to exit when Haku suddenly appeared in front of her, and unleashed a kick to her midsection.

Saki dodged it easily, but was forced back in the center.

_Not letting me go, eh? _Saki growled, and again, dodging another barrage. _Damn it… and where the heck is this Haku aiming at? _

Saki dodged another needle volley, deflecting some with her kunai, realizing that her enemy was aiming to just disable her. She didn't know whether to feel confused, insulted, or glad for that. Instead, she formed a Tiger Seal and began to flow through the sequence in forming her jutsu.

"Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu!!"

Fire steadily formed from her mouth as she blew it towards the mirrors, hoping to at least damage it. Nothing. The mirror didn't even produce 'sweat'.

"That kind of ninjutsu isn't strong enough to break my mirrors," Haku declared neutrally.

_No, really? _Saki thought sarcastically. _Damn it… I know Haku's the one causing the blurs, moving at great speeds. If I could only follow the damn movements…!_

Once more, she barely dodged a dozen needles coming to her gut.

While Saki was trying not to become a porcupine, Kakashi was trying not to become a head shorter, literally. His Sharingan was no help in this situation, still being an eye, but it didn't really render him helpless. Copy Cat Kakashi, genius even without the transplanted eye, formulated a plan that would get him and his students out alive, but odds were against him.

Saki was fighting off that kid who apparently had a bloodline limit using elemental fusion, creating ice. And from the groans coming in from the dome of ice, that wasn't just it. He could help, of course, but that would leave Sakura alone. Making shadow clones would be another alternative, but in turn, Zabuza would use water clones, and they are cheaper, chakra-wise, giving the Devil of the Mist the advantage.

"I'm impressed, Copy Cat," Zabuza's voice seemed to sneer from the mist.

"Does that mean I didn't impress you before?" Kakashi replied with a slight smile. "I guess I should step up my game, eh?"

"Hmph… joke all you want, it'll all be over soon."

Kakashi was about to comment on Zabuza lacking on a sense of humor, when a sudden chakra spike emitted from to mist. The energy signature was pretty much recognizable. There was only one person who was trained in the ninja arts who just bleeds chakra off.

"Not if I can help it!!" Naruto suddenly appeared, landing at the area where Sakura was: in between the ice dome, and where Kakashi was fighting. It was also the clearest area, being minimally affected by the mist. "The great ninja Alchemist, Naruto Uzumaki, appears!"

He posed. Sakura could only blink, her eyebrow twitching slightly.

"Idiot. Showoff…" she muttered, though she had her smile out.

"Kinda late, aren't you, Naruto?" Kakashi called.

"Well, a hero always arrives late, right?" the blonde grinned. "Whatcha need, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Tactical support would be nice," the jounin replied.

"Don't worry. One of mine's under the bridge. He'll be providing cover for you and Sakura."

Kakashi blinked, then smiled somewhat. He tried to search for it, and after a little probing, realized what Naruto said was true. He could feel a very weak pulse of energy under the bridge. Naruto had thought ahead.

"Go help Sasuke," Kakashi stated towards the blonde.

"Gotcha," Naruto smirked, and dashed towards the ice dome. Zabuza wouldn't allow it though, and sent a flurry of shurikens towards the boy. Kakashi wanted to shout a warning, Haku himself, now interested in the blonde's presence, was about to throw senbon to intercept, but something odd happened.

The shurikens coming towards Naruto stopped in mid-air, and suddenly returned to Zabuza's position. The man's eyes widened before moving out of the way, his own weapons imbedding where he was earlier.

"Try again, ya eyebrow-less freak!" Naruto took his tongue out insultingly towards the mist, and dashed towards the dome.

Zabuza could only reply dryly, "Cheeky kid."

"He's our number one surprising ninja, Uzumaki Naruto," Kakashi stated with a slight smile. "You're unlucky, Zabuza. Unlucky you had to face us."

"Oh?"

"There is Sakura, the top kunoichi in class… the Rookie of the Year, the prodigy and last of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke… and finally, our very own Alchemist Ninja, Naruto," Kakashi smirked as he felt a hold on him, and disappeared from his spot, appearing right behind Zabuza.

The Devil of the Mist ducked automatically as Kakashi slashed at his back with his kunai, his mind exploding with explicative words, wondering what just happened.

"What…!?" Zabuza growled as he disappeared through the mist again. He had to dodge once more when Kakashi appeared on his left side, extending a leg for a kick. The Devil blocked it, but was still a bit unbalanced that he didn't regain momentum.

Kakashi smirked. It was a bit disconcerting at first, but with his Sharingan, he could register his location, and instantaneously plan his attack. He knew under the bridge, Naruto Prime was working his fingers off, and he was a bit rusty with his placements, but it was working. It was throwing Zabuza off balance, forcing him from offense to defense, and as the ultimate insult, made the Devil's favorite jutsu, the Mist technique, practically useless.

* * *

One Naruto clone was sticking upside down, his feet on the base of the underside of the bridge. It was somewhat unnerving, but he couldn't afford to keep his eyes off the fight between Zabuza and his sensei. The Devil moved very fast, and he needed to have his fingers nice and nimble to get Kakashi out of the way in case Zabuza retaliated.

He didn't pay attention to the other side of the battle. He didn't feel a need to, being to busy watching out for Sakura and Kakashi. Plus, it was Naruto Prime there fighting with the psycho-girl. What could go wrong?

* * *

"You… idiot!" Saki seethed as she felt the need to hit Naruto on his head. This was what Kakashi wanted as their tactical support? The moron just walked in the ice dome as if he was strolling in the park at a relaxing mid-afternoon.

"What?" Naruto looked confused. "I'm here to help, you know!"

"Oh, then that makes everything alright, now, doesn't it?" Saki growled sarcastically as she looked around her. Haku had stopped attacking for some reason, opting to just watch them.

Naruto had announced his presence loudly, as he would. Saki knew enough about the blonde to know Naruto and quiet aren't exactly in the same chemistry. She expected his arrival to be thus. She also expected Kakashi to send Naruto to help her… she needed help, in all honesty. She expected Naruto was at least smart enough to at least try and attack from the outside… she had seen how his brain work, either on pranks or on desperate and trying times.

She should have expected him to muck up, anyway.

Instead of trying to attack the mirrors from outside… he came in. After Saki had dodged the nth barrage coming at her, she stumbled on the ground, off-balanced, and staring at blue clear eyes.

She was pissed.

"You could have attacked outside, you idiot!" Saki wanted to shout, she really did. Naruto… that moron! Idiot! And why is that damned masked-nin just staring at them?

"Sheesh, if that's how you're gonna react, don't ask me to save you," Naruto mumbled, and walked towards the mirrors. Haku's image disappeared, and the masked-nin appeared where Naruto was about to make his exit.

"I cannot allow you to leave," Haku declared solemnly. "I'm sorry, but you have to stay here."

Naruto just stared at the masked figure silently for a few seconds. He then grinned.

"Gotcha!" he declared, and from his left hand shot a torrent of cards. Haku blinked, and if it wasn't for experience, Naruto would have gotten the masked-nin trapped. Instead, Haku's image returned to the mirrors, the cards scattering in the air.

"Damn it! So fast!" the blonde muttered, and retreated towards the center where Saki was waiting for him. The Uchiha stared at him. Naruto looked annoyed. "What? It almost worked, alright. I didn't expect that masked-nin to be fast!"

"Heh… for a minute, I thought you were as stupid as I thought you were," Saki replied.

"Hmph… says the psycho," Naruto mumbled. "So… what's with the ice bits? And I didn't know anyone who could travel that fast."

A volley of senbon needles came from all directions, all aimed towards the two genins. Naruto brought up a patched wall of cards surrounding them, catching most of the attack, while Saki just deflected the remnants that were able to pass through the spaces in between the cards. Naruto's defense was large, but because of his limited cards in hand, it wasn't completely tight.

"I think the mirrors are some sort of portal," Saki muttered as another volley was sent. A few more needles were getting in between the holes in Naruto's card defense. "It allows that masked-nin to travel from one place to another almost at an instant."

"Crap," the blonde muttered as he dodged an incoming needle. "This guy's shots are becoming better!"

"Tell me something I don't know!"

Naruto then willed his cards to relocate, mixing and shifting, patching up holes where they were, only to create new ones in other areas.

"That should make the bastard work harder," Naruto muttered. He looked behind him, to his teammate. "Got a plan, psycho?"

"Don't call me psycho, idiot," Saki growled as she deflected more wayward needles. "My eyes are adjusting to the movement… though it would help if you could slow her down."

"I can try and expand my cards outwards, try to make them stick to him," the blonde muttered. "Problem is, those are our defenses… and I doubt if my cards still stick to him when he enters one of those damn mirrors."

"How about those fire bombs you have?" Saki asked, remembering Naruto's fight with Zabuza on their first encounter. "You can use those to melt those mirrors."

"Uh… nope, sorry, I'm empty," Naruto groaned, remembering he had used his last remaining bombs to free Mercedes.

"So we're completely boned?" Saki sighed. "Damn it… and I thought you were useful."

"Are you two married couples done arguing?" Haku's voice suddenly came around them.

Saki froze up, turning to a nasty shade of red.

"I'm going to kill you…" she declared, her grin and eyes becoming murderous. "I'll burn your corpse to ash. I will feed you to the fishes, well-done."

"Sheesh… psycho," Naruto whispered, his eyes going around. He could see blurs as well, but that was the only thing he could see. He was hoping his classmate was having more luck in spotting their enemy.

Oddly, Saki was having more luck. The little barb about her and Naruto seemed to hit a very sensitive nerve, making her pull all her concentration on one thing… the utter destruction of the masked-nin. Unknown to her, or to anyone for the matter, that was all it took for her eyes to finally unlock its potential.

It wasn't only her face that turned red. Her eyes too.

_I can see it! _Saki thought. The movements of Haku. _I can really see it! _

Time seemed to slow down for her, her head and eyes following the blur as if it was traveling at normal speed. Forming seals, she shouted towards his partner, "Clear the way! I'm going to burn this guy down! Katon!"

"Whoa, whoa! Don't burn the cards!" Naruto declared, recognizing the word (he had run away from it after all), and recalled the cards away, clearing the way for her technique.

"Gōkakyu no Jutsu!"

A steady stream of fire came out of her mouth. Haku thought that the raven-haired genin was futilely trying to melt the mirrors again, but was surprised when the ball of fire was coming straight at…

"Gotcha!" Saki grinned.

Haku swerved, unbalanced having trying to attack, only to dodge the fireball in mid-air. Luckily, there was a mirror waiting to be used as an escape, and only a part of the masked-nin's pants caught the attack.

"Whoa, nice one," Naruto declared, and willed his cards to come alive once more in case Haku retaliated.

Haku was wondering for a moment if what just happened was just luck, when Saki just grinned at one of the mirrors. The red pinwheel eye had then become obvious. The masked-nin knew the odds on their favor had significantly risen.

The raven-haired genin was waiting for Haku to pop out. Zabuza's apprentice knew that. This time, the fire attack wouldn't miss. The Sharingan was powerful, Haku knew that, but the user had just awakened it. The genin was inexperienced. Plus… she had a weakness.

The blonde.

Haku sped out of the mirror, and Saki immediately pressed on her attack. Instead of going for an attack like earlier, though, the masked nin just transferred to the nearest mirror, dodging the fire attack completely, leaving the Uchiha open.

"Crap!" Saki declared as she saw Haku suddenly counter-attacking her. Naruto needed no other warning. Forcing all his cards to erect a perfectly whole wall in front of his teammate, deflecting the barrage of needles completely.

Unfortunately… it left him open.

"What the…!" Saki muttered as she saw a wall of cards covering her front completely. Her eyes spotted movement, and realized what Haku was now aiming for.

Naruto found himself pushed aside. His first reaction was anger, seeing his teammate looking down at him, but found himself abated when he saw needles in her neck.

She went on her knees. Her vision began to fade. Her red eyes turned back to black, looking solemn. Looking dead. Her mouth opened, and spoke three words.

"You damn… idiot…"

**To Be Continued**

* * *

_Author's Notes: _

_Finally, updated. Hope you like it people… NGE has been on my mind for sometime, so it took me a while not to write Shinji instead of Naruto. lol. Anyways, end of the Wave Country arc comes next chapter. _

_Later peoples. _


	12. Chapter 12

Kakashi got another hit in, hearing the growl from Zabuza. His blood scattered into the unreceptive air, and before the man could retaliate, the Copy-Cat Ninja suddenly disappeared and once more moved towards Zabuza's side, attacking again.

"Damn you, Copy-Cat!" Zabuza growled as he defended from the attack.

"It seems your preparations against me weren't up to snuff, eh?" Kakashi stated neutrally as he disappeared from sight, only to re-appear behind the man once more. He had to dodge though when the Devil of the Mist retaliated suddenly with a big swing from his huge sword.

"Hmph... no matter how fast you move, your movements are simple and predictable," Zabuza muttered.

Kakashi smiled a bit. That was true, something he had to fix in Naruto's placements, but he wasn't a jounin for anything. When he felt a tug in his body, he chose to ignore it, and pressed forward. Zabuza, expecting his enemy to disappear from sight once more, was shocked when Kakashi suddenly came to him.

"How was that?" the silver-haired jounin asked as he slashed through Zabuza cleanly through his abdomen. It wasn't deep enough to count the man out, but enough to hurt. Before the Devil could retaliate, Kakashi vanished once more.

Zabuza looked around the mist, wondering where Kakashi was going to appear again. He didn't. Expanding his senses, he tried to feel for a trap, or anything that Kakashi might have left. The man like Copy-Cat wasn't one to leave battles.

He felt him near the female genin guarding the bridge builder. He felt confusion surfacing in his mind... and if he only knew, he wasn't the only one.

Kakashi looked perplexed when he realized where he was. Something was wrong... Naruto wouldn't bring him to Sakura or Tazuna without due reason. He really should have gotten those radios for his team. It'd make communication much easier.

Kakashi wasn't left hanging in the wind too long. Behind him, he could hear footsteps, and soon, he could see the blonde clone, looking quite alarmed.

"What is it?" the jounin asked.

"Sasuke..." the Naruto Clone panted.

"Sasuke-kun!?" Sakura looked panicked. "What happened to Sasuke-kun!?"

The Naruto Clone looked somewhat down, unsure to reply. Kakashi only hoped it wasn't as bad as the Naruto Clone perceived it. "Go help them," he ordered.

The blonde clone didn't even need reply. He immediately ran towards the ice dome, leaving Kakashi, the bewildered and torn looking Sakura, and Tazuna alone.

"Kakashi-sensei...?" Sakura asked, worried.

"Don't worry... they're both fine," Kakashi forced himself to say. Now... he knew he had to beat his opponent, fast. With thatin mind, he grabbed out a summoning scroll from his vest pocket, bit his thumb to draw blood, and smeared it to the scroll.

* * *

"You damned idiot…" Saki growled as she felt her strength leaving her. Naruto looked at her confused, and his eyes widened as he realized what just had happened. She collapsed.

"Sasuke…" he muttered as he stood up rushed to her. "Sasuke!"

Her face was getting paler by the minute. Naruto shook his head. This couldn't be happening. Going for his storage seals at his left sleeve, he extracted a healing potion, and made Saki drink it. Her complexion didn't change… her breathing was getting shallower. The blonde knew that his teammate was dying.

"Please, let this work," he chanted softly. "Let this work!"

Extracting something else from his storage seal, he took out a small silver cup with a small amount of silver grey liquid inside. It was Nectar, one of the most powerful healing concoctions he had synthesized. According to his mom's scroll, this specialized healing potion heals grievous and fatal wounds instead of non-fatal ones. It could revive the dead, as long as the timing's right.

If anything… this was the thing that could save Sasuke.

However, even as she drank it, there was no change in her state. Her breathing was now slowing to a halt, and her eyes have stopped blinking.

"NO!" Naruto shouted, and began to shake her. "Wake up! You damned psycho girl! Wake the hell up!"

"Sorry… you moron…" she replied, her lips forming a slight smile. "I'm… too tired."

"Why!?" the blonde demanded, not feeling his eyes tear up. "Why'd you do that!? Why did you take that attack for me!?"

"My… body… moved… on its own…" she coughed. She looked up, her smile now more pronounced. "Heh… I wanted to kill my brother… seems… I can't…"

She closed her eyes, her breathing stopping. Naruto's tears landed on her pale cheeks, and the blonde could only stare at her in deep shock. He doubted the notion, rejected it even. The psycho girl seemed to strong, especially back then. Now, she just laid there, apparently dead to the world. He then felt sorrow… anger… then rage.

"Was that necessary?" he asked in a cold voice, his eyes hardening, his tears still flowing as he looked at the masked-nin, who was now standing there, watching him.

"Yes…" Haku replied solemnly. "This is the ultimate price of living a life as a ninja. Death."

The Naruto Clone finally arrived, squeezing through a slit between the mirrors, and looked at Naruto Prime standing in front of the fallen Uchiha. The clone immediately went towards Saki, and then, looked towards Prime. He too felt his creator's rage, and soon after, his plan.

"I will kill you then," Naruto Prime declared.

Haku melted through one of the mirrors, and the masked-nin's form appeared in the others. Naruto Prime threw his Fate Deck towards his clone, and closed his eyes.

_I need your help._

_**You have it. **_

For the first time since he became a genin, Naruto Prime and Kyuubi combined. Over his coat, a tattered cape, which looked and moved like it was fire itself, and his chakra suddenly exploded exponentially, mingling with a more powerful energy.

Haku was confused. Readying the senbon needles once more, the masked-nin blinked in surprise as Naruto's clothes changed, and more importantly, when the other Naruto, who just entered, shared the same expression as the former one. In one swift stroke, other Naruto threw his two hands forward the same time Haku unleashed his barrage of needles.

The cards spread all over the air, just like earlier. This time though, they doubled, making the wall of cards more effective than the last few walls the blonde had erected to protect his teammate and himself. Senbon needles bounced off the hard surface of the wall of cards, and they quickly readjusted themselves, reforming as if it was done earlier.

Free of worry, Naruto Prime recalled the Riblam. He was done holding back now. For the first time, he adjusted so that his magical bow would have maximum penetrating power, and to be sure, he readied a burst tracking shot. Thanks to his temporary union with Kyuubi, he had no fear from energy drainage.

"Clear the way!" Prime declared, and aimed up. The clone recalled all the cards, and Prime took his shot. The discharge spread throughout the air, and suddenly homed on one mirror.

Haku didn't have time to blink as the projectiles came.

The mirror shattered, and Naruto Prime spotted the masked-nin fly away. The surrounding mirrors began to melt and break, quite a fitting image if one looked through the masked-nin's eyes. Diamonds were sparkling behind the blonde alchemist, shattered as his fire-like cape swished behind him; on his hand, a huge bow, with a crimson eye at the back of his fist, walking towards his fallen opponent.

The masked-nin tried to stand, but was only able to get to one knee, too weak to fully stand.

"You…" Naruto Prime looked at his fallen adversary. The last attack had been strong enough to not only force Haku's mask off, but also something else. "You are a girl."

Haku blinked, and looked down at her shirt, revealing her bindings. She immediately tried to cover them, but it was far too late. She had been revealed. She could only laugh at the thought. She had not only been beaten by a younger opponent, but he also found out what she hid from most of her enemies.

Her true sex.

"Finish it…" Haku declared. She was utterly beaten and that meant only one thing: she was useless now.

The blonde lowered his weapon slightly, his eyes confused. Haku could almost see the questions in his head.

"I killed your friend," she continued. "Kill me."

"Shut up!" the Naruto clone declared, rushing towards her, and punched her hard on the face, making her fall the second time. "Damn it! This is bull! This is not happening!"

Naruto Prime looked down, torn. His clone's thoughts mirrored his own, but had a darker emotion filling his heart. It was regret. Regret he had once more put up his pride so foolishly forward. He assumed he and Sasuke could take on their enemy. He assumed his little plan with using his fate cards as defense would be flawless.

He could have done better. He should have done better. Now… she was dead. She sacrificed herself for him… the one who led to it in the first place. He shouted. Naruto Prime shouted with everything he could muster. A horrible scream made the Naruto clone flinch, and brought fear to the heart of Haku. A scream that overpowered Naruto Prime's senses on its duration.

Then… gone. His emotions were spent, so was his breathe. He almost fell to his knee, but he just slumped there, looking defeated. No one spoke a word. The world outside went silent.

_**Learned your lesson, now did you?**_

Kyuubi's voice jolted him from his reverie. The words hit Naruto like a punch to the gut.

_You… you bastard fox! _

_**She's alive, you know. **_

_Wha… what? _

_**The Uchiha girl's still alive. **_

_Impossible! She's… she… _

_**There are only two reasons why a Nectar wouldn't work. The life had gone from the body too long, or the person wasn't dying. I saw you synthesize it. There was no way you'd have made a mistake. Whatever happened to the Uchiha girl, she isn't dead. **_

Naruto was silent, both physically and mentally. Confused at Kyuubi's words, he now began to feel another wave of doubt washing through his system, and then the anger towards his Mana partner of his silence in the matter.

_If she was still alive, why didn't you tell me!? _

_**Don't get angry, you moron. First of all, you, being the alchemist, should know the full properties and effects of the items you synthesize. Second, what that Haku girl said was right… being a ninja means you have to be prepared to face death. This will serve as a lesson to you. You're head was getting a bit too big. At your age, having three Mana partners and getting three Alchemic weapons is impressive, but you have yet to mature in understanding how much responsibility your new power holds. **_

There was a slight pause.

_**You threw yourself too recklessly towards your enemy. You could have developed a better plan to beat your opponent or better yet, adapt and modify plan as it went along, but instead, you just used the first thing that came to your mind, thinking it was going to be enough. That resulted in your teammate's incapacitation. If it were any other opponent… she'd have been dead if you were lucky. If you weren't… you'd be the one laying in the slab. **_

_**You are an alchemist. One of the few left, maybe even the last. Please appreciate that responsibility. **_

The words were solemn. Kyuubi was giving Naruto a lecture, one without much insult. The blonde felt more weary, knowing he may had screwed up big time if the bastard fox was somehow feeling sorry for him.

_I'm not ready for this… am I?_

_**Che… the fact I'm lecturing you means that you aren't. However, as it pains me to say this, your heart is in the right place. It is your mind that needs more work. **_

That brought a slight smile on the blonde's face.

_Heh… thanks. Bastard Fox. _

_**Hmph. I just don't want my alchemist partner to embarrass me… moron. **_

A flash, and Naruto's clothes returned back to normal. The battle was over. Naruto Prime knew it, and his clone knew it as well. Kyuubi wouldn't lie about this… and even if he did, the fact the Nectar hadn't worked was sufficient proof enough. The only thing he felt was slight irritation that he had wasted the potion. It was hard to synthesize.

Haku was the one who was left confused. She had waited for the killing blow, only to get nothing. Looking at the two blondes, they lost the cold aura of contained rage that was present earlier. She couldn't read them. Then, a dark thought entered her head as he watched the two blondes steal a look at her. She immediately covered herself, ready to defend.

"Don't…" she muttered.

Both Narutos looked at her, confused. "Don't… what?"

"You know what…" she growled, her eyes hardening. What did the boy think she was, stupid? She wasn't clueless! He was at the right age, he had the advantage. It was something to be expected being a kunoichi. Zabuza had told her, reminded her lots of times of the unscrupulous inhuman acts that happened in his life.

"Kill you?" Naruto Prime asked, looking more and more confused at each passing second. "Just a second ago you were aching to go. Are you like… indecisive?"

Haku stood up, and Naruto Prime just aimed his weapon at her. He didn't want to kill her now that he had no reason to, but it didn't mean he was going to be careless around her. For a moment, the two Narutos stared at her in silence, wondering what they should say; Haku herself didn't look too sure what to do. She was outnumbered, injured, and exposed.

"My teammate's not dead," Naruto Prime declared. It wasn't a question. It was a statement of fact.

Haku didn't even try to deny it anymore. She just smiled.

"Why?" the blonde asked.

Haku just shrugged slightly. "I just… couldn't."

"Yet… you would have readily asked me to kill you," Naruto Prime muttered.

"A ninja's life always ends in death," she declared softly. "My heart wasn't hard enough. Because of that… you defeated me."

Naruto Prime looked at her, his eyes narrowing. His words were honest, solemn, and serious. "I like your heart."

"I'm sure," she smiled. "But it doesn't matter… Zabuza-sama doesn't need a useless tool like me."

"Why?" Naruto Prime demanded angrily. "Why him!? He's is working for a criminal who's stealing life from this country!"

"It doesn't matter," Haku smiled a bit. "We all form strange bonds over our lives. He saved my life. That was all I needed. He is my precious person... and you took away my reason to live. He won't need a weak ninja like me. "

They were silent once more. The two Narutos looked crossed between torn and angry, while Haku still held that serene smile. It was another minute before Naruto Prime spoke again.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

She looked at him, a bit confused, but still smiled. "Haku. Now… kill me."

"No."

She shook her head, as if annoyed. "I don't need your pity."

"Say what you want," Prime muttered, looking resolved, "but I'm not going to kill you."

"Then I'll force you to kill me," Haku declared, her voice now getting devoid of any emotion. Her hands immediately went to form seals, and Naruto Prime readied his bow, aiming at her, while his clone also readied the two deck of cards to defend or attack, whatever the situation called.

The mist cleared, making the three combatants pause. The blondes were more curious, wondering what was happening, while Haku looked behind her. There were only two reasons why the Mist jutsu was stopping either Zabuza had finally taken care of his opponent, or it was the other way around.

The sound of chirping birds answered her. No way would Zabuza, an orthodox silent killer, have something loud in his repertoire. Trying to focus on the shadowy figures as the mist thinned, she immediately spotted her teacher and savior pinned down by a group of summoned ninja dogs.

"Zabuza-sama!"

Naruto Prime and his clone watched in surprise as Haku suddenly moved away from them. For a moment, they thought she was finally attacking, but realized when she was dashing away from them, it wasn't that. The next time he saw her was when the mist finally cleared, where she was in front of Zabuza, and Kakashi's arm was sticking in from her chest out to her back.

She was smiling.

The blondes were completely taken by surprise, but that emotion was quickly replaced by anger when Zabuza suddenly raised his large sword, intent on cutting Kakashi and the smiling girl.

"NO!" Prime took the shot automatically. It was a reflexive action, and he had no idea what the results were. All he saw, all he wanted to see, really, was that orb of light smack the man trying to kill his teacher and cut that girl in half. He succeeded.

Zabuza screamed as he felt an impact, like a solid punch, ram right through his ribs, which he had in avertedly exposed when he raised his weapon with both his arms, and fell in a heap. Kakashi's eyes suddenly darted towards the source of the projectile, which was Naruto Prime, holding a rather large bow.

Where did the boy get that from? Oh well, questions could come later, he thought as he spotted Zabuza wheezing as he tried to stand.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto Prime ran to his teacher. "Haku... is she...?"

"Haku?" the silver-haired jounin looked towards the blonde, and towards the young girl that interfered with his attack. He then looked towards Naruto Prime with a pitying expression. "I'm assuming she's the fake hunter?"

Naruto just nodded. "Is she...?"

"I'm sorry, Naruto," the jounin muttered as he lowered Haku and his arm, and slowly removed his intruding arm from her body. "Her lung was punctured and cauterized. Even if she was alive, she'd just die."

Naruto Prime looked at Haku, his eyes hardening.

"Naruto... I'm going to finish Zabuza off," Kakashi said in a matter of fact tone before he left, leaving Naruto Prime and his clone alone with Haku.

Taking his fingers to her throat, he tried to feel for a pulse. It was gone. Kakashi was right... she was dead. Prime then looked towards his clone, who immediately went for his storage seal, extracting a Nectar.

"Naruto..." Gwendolyn called from his right. "She was your opponent."

"Am I doing anything wrong?" Naruto Prime asked with a somewhat hard tone in his voice.

"Of course not," Gwendolyn said soothingly. "But you might make it harder for yourself..."

"She said she lived for that Zabuza guy she was with," Mercedes joined in. "And I doubt your teacher will fail in killing him, especially after that rather nasty shot you gave him to his side. You may have cracked some of his ribs in that one."

"She's strong, she'll find another reason to live," Naruto Prime declared as he opened Haku's mouth, and poured some of the liquid in there and the remaining towards the gaping hole on her chest. She sighed a bit when the wounds suddenly began to close at an accelerated rate, and she began to breathe.

"Even if her new reason is vengeance? To kill you, the one that not only stole her reason for living, but also made her ultimate sacrifice useless?" Mercedes asked.

"I'll take it. Everything she'll have if she comes against me," Naruto Prime muttered as he stood up, and then walked back towards where he had left the fallen Uchiha.

She was still there, laying down where he left her. She still looked dead, almost impossible to fathom she was alive, but she was. Kneeling down near her, he just watched her face without any outward emotion appearing on his face. For a long while, he just kneeled there, until finally, she finally opened her eyes and saw two blondes looking at her.

"Sasuke..." Naruto Prime greeted neutrally, though one could see a phantom of a smile on his face. "Welcome back."

"Ugh... I could do better than see your ugly mug," she muttered and shook her head. "What happened?"

"It's over," Naruto offered.

"You beat him?"

"Her."

The young Uchiha blinked. She half-wanted to ask what he meant by 'she', and also half-doubting that her blonde teammate had done what she couldn't do earlier. Granted, she was taken out of the fight because she had protected her teammate, but she wouldn't have even gotten close if it wasn't for Naruto, who protected her while she planned her offense.

"Can you stand?" Naruto Prime asked.

"I think so..." she replied, and was helped by the two Narutos up, her arms over their shoulders. They stayed silent for a minute as they walked towards the direction where Sakura was, when the Uchiha said, "Naruto..."

"Yeah?"

"You tell anyone I was beaten, I'll castrate you."

Naruto Prime didn't know what castrate meant, but it sounded painful, so he just nodded. "Sure, Sasuke."

"My name's Saki," she corrected. "And don't call me that when there are people around or I'll-"

"Castrate me, I know," Naruto Prime finished.

"You're getting cheeky, blondie," Saki growled.

"And I guess almost dying didn't change you one bit, psycho girl."

Saki just growled, but smiled a bit as she walked away from where she had lain earlier.

Naruto Prime wasn't surprised when he spotted Haku still laying on the ground. Saki stole a look at her fallen form, but didn't ask the blonde anything. She didn't even speak. They just continued to tread towards Sakura, who spotted them. Showing some professionalism, she didn't leave Tazuna, but she was waving her arm towards them.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura declared as they came to arm's length. "Are you okay!?"

"Hn," Saki muttered, but nodded.

"I was so scared!" Sakura eyes began to tear a bit, but vanished when she looked towards the Narutos, and her expression turned a bit dark. "This moron talked like you had died or something! I was really scared!"

"Hehe... sorry, Sakura-chan?" Naruto replied with a nervous smile. "I really thought Sak... uh, Sasuke died too."

"You idiot!" Sakura half-shouted.

"Ancients, I want to strangle her," Gwendolyn muttered as she flew across Naruto's shoulders.

"Hush... it'll push our partner closer to us," Mercedes declared with a sly smile.

"Mercedes, drop that topic already."

Naruto didn't know what those two Manas were talking about, so he just filed it at the back of his mind. Saki looked at him curiously, her eyes moving from Naruto Prime's face, to his shoulders. The blonde looked at her, confused.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing..." Saki muttered. She could have sworn she spotted two small figures of light moving around Naruto's shoulder.

Ignoring the Uchiha, Naruto looked towards the direction where Kakashi was. He saw Zabuza, still alive, apparently, but heavily wounded. He had dropped his massive sword which was protruding from the ground, blade down, kunai blades sticking from his shoulders and gut, his arms on his side, useless. Kakashi looked unharmed, mostly, but what caught the blonde's attention was a mob of tough-looking guys with multitude of weapons staring down at them. At the front and center of the group was a short man with spiky hair, a suit and dark spectacles.

"What the heck is going on here?" Naruto Prime muttered, more to himself than anyone. Leaving his clone alone with the still-weakened Saki with the doting Sakura and their sober client, he slowly approached the two men, careful and alert in case Zabuza would turn to him.

Suddenly, Kakashi threw his kunai towards Zabuza. It wasn't a throw to harm, but more of giving the Devil of the Mist a weapon, who caught it easily in his mouth. And to add more confusion to Naruto's, Zabuza suddenly dashed towards the group of men.

"Kakashi-sensei..." Naruto called as he stepped towards his teacher who made no move as Zabuza cut through the ranks, taking hits from the mercenaries' attacks, but nothing they did stopped him. "What's going on?"

"You're about to witness why it's not very smart to renege on a contract with a shinobi... missing-nin or otherwise," Kakashi muttered in an odd calm. "Gatou was foolish enough to think he could betray the Devil of the Mist and live to tell the world about it."

Zabuza fell, not by Naruto's or Kakashi's hands, but by the multiple weapons that were now stricken all over his body, but not before he had reached the already short cowardly Gatou and made him a head shorter. Naruto was too surprised at the brutality that he didn't even look away, watching a speck, most likely Gatou's head, fly towards the body of water outside the bridge.

For a moment, Naruto thought he could understand why the man was called the Devil. He even died standing up for a second, before he finally fell.

"The end of a man who lead a difficult life," Kakashi muttered with a tone of respect.

The mercenaries, probably after pissing in their pants, realized their adversary was finally dead, and also realized that paycheck had been killed. They then began to threaten to raid the whole town, essentially killing it. They didn't get far though... another surprise came to Naruto, and this time, it was of a smaller package.

Inari. Tazuna's little grandson, who he just saw earlier was leading a band of adequately armed villagers. He had a bow gun, which Naruto found somewhat funny since he had rescued the boy with an almost similar, if not bigger version of the weapon he was using.

The mercenaries still looked confident, until a group of Narutos suddenly joined in Kakashi's and Naruto Prime's ranks. Confused, Naruto Prime looked towards the clone he had left alone with Saki, Sakura and Tazuna, and he was giving him the thumbs-up sign.

The clincher was Kakashi, who decided that he too was going to join in. Using a bunshin instead of a Kage Bunshin, he added more illusions of himself to mingle with the Naruto clones, who looked ready to rumble.

"Want some of this?" Kakashi asked in his most menacing tone.

The mercenaries ran. The battle for Wave Country ended with minimum bloodshed, and the tyranny of Gatou ended with the whole country celebrating it later that night.

* * *

The day finally came when the bridge had been completed... ahead of schedule no less. This was because of Naruto's clones and the fact the whole village was now supporting Tazuna on his quest, and he happily enough took their thanks and rallied the strong men and women working together in harmony.

By this time, Naruto had made friends with Inari, and found out who he had lost to Gatou that placed him in a coward's attitude that had pissed the blonde so much. Inari's father figure, a man who had been called the bravest man of Wave Country stood up against Gatou. He was cruelly executed in public for his troubles. Although Naruto couldn't totally relate to Inari's loss, he knew the feeling, remembering Mizuki and Iruka's fight.

Saki had avoided him, sticking to her duties in silence. Sakura was always by her side, but since Inari and Naruto were developing their friendship along with the latter's help with the construction softened his sadness at his crush's absence.

Gwendolyn called it a small victory. Once more, Naruto was confused, and wondered what the heck the Wind Mana was talking about.

By the time it was time to leave, Inari was crying. This time, Naruto didn't say anything derogatory towards boy... it would have been hypocritical of him since he too was crying. Promising to visit when he could, Naruto waved at him one last time before he joined back at his team.

Leaving Wave Country wasn't exactly a happy affair, but at least Naruto felt some closure from his farewell towards Inari and Tazuna, their first client outside Fire Country. However, one thing remained on his mind, something that had been bothering him since after the battle at the bridge.

Haku.

She was never found after the battle. She must have revived after the mercenaries have left, when everyone was gathering their wits about them. He knew she knew about Zabuza's demise... it would be impossible to hide that fact.

What Gwendolyn and Mercedes told him the day he gave Haku the Nectar to revive her came back to his head. Was she angry at her loss? Would her anger direct itself on his path? Had he ruined a friendship, and in turn, earned an enemy in her?

Naruto trudged on his path. He would face it head-on, he promised to himself. That would be his nindo.

* * *

Overlooking Wave Country, Haku looked at Zabuza's grave. It was made well... he was buried deep enough to stop most desecrators. Above the simple gravestone was the head-cleaving sword that her father-figure used. At its hilt was his forehead protector, still smeared in blood.

It took her an hour, but she was finally able to free the sword from its confines, and she stumbled a bit at the weight and length of the sword, but she steadied herself, and placed it at harness at her back, careful the blade end wasn't touching the ground.

No one spotted her as she exited Wave Country in its newly built bridge. She had spotted its name, aptly named The Great Naruto Bridge. Naruto... the blonde who had defeated her, and revived her. She knew it was him...

Haku knew full well she was going to see him again. She gripped the forehead protector of Zabuza with her hand, her face unreadable as she walked over the bridge out of Wave Country, the resting place of her rescuer and her savior.

**To Be Continued... **

* * *

_Author's Notes: _

_I lost my mojo a bit, but did get it, thankfully in the end. I hope you guys enjoy this story. Later._


	13. Chapter 13

Mornings in Konoha were bright and quiet. Birds sang no songs, and the only sound came from the eastern wind blowing only gently outside Atelier Uzumaki, making a few plants sway. Inside, the workshop was alive with activity. Vials of liquids and potions heated by gas burners, items exposed to naked electrical wires that were wrapped around them, the Alchemic Pot rumbling as it built weapons from base materials, and from the kitchen wafted the pleasant scent of breakfast.

Oddly, the alchemist of this Atelier, the only human resident living in the workshop, was in bed, half-asleep.

Naruto grunted in a heap, his eyes squinting at the glaring sun from the glass ceiling. Moving his hands towards the side of his bed, he found a small dial, and turned it. The room darkened as the glass tinted to grey and he continued to mumble sleepily as he hugged the pillow on his arms. It would seem he would have another hour of sleep until something heavy jumped on him.

"Wake up!" Mercedes declared with glee as she felt Naruto trying to scramble out of his blanket, surprised.

"Wha, who… ah…?" Naruto mumbled sleepily, and spotted the smiling face of the Wood Mana. "Mercedes… wha…"

"Morning, sleepy-head," she greeted. "Brush your teeth. You got morning breathe." And she got off him, leaving him mildly confused.

Naruto yawned, and wiped his eyes. His body felt a bit stiff, so he stretched his arms up and wiped his eyes. The smell of breakfast cooking jolted his system, waking him up from his reverie. Stretching his legs over the carpeted floor of his room and wore his slippers, went to the bathroom, and numbly brushed his teeth. He walked back to the room, stripped his pajamas and took a black shirt and white pants from his closet, exiting his room after dressing.

The first thing that greeted him was Mercedes, who was watching the vials and potions cooking. At first, Naruto had trouble thinking she was responsible enough, considering how she acted. Her personality was very different from Gwendolyn, but she was quick to point out that he, himself, acted similar to her. And to prove a point, the Wood Mana spectacularly made it her assignment to watch and even synthesize organic potions. Her affinity for the Earth and Wood (plant-life) boosted the effects of most of his herbal synthesis, making her quite invaluable.

"How's the synthesizing?" Naruto asked.

"Pretty good," Mercedes replied. "I was able to restock most of the healing potions, and even added more. Our supplies are getting a bit thin, so I want to gather materials."

She loved Konoha… maybe a bit too much. That was her thirty-sixth time in asking to go out to the surrounding woodland in the span of a month. Naruto did not mind though. Her nature had made Konoha's area irresistible to her, as there were many Wood Spots for her to hang out in.

Spots, as Naruto would learn from Gwendolyn later, were essentially a well of magical energy concentrated on one element. Mana love to hang out around Spots of their elements, like how Naruto felt the same about hanging around the Ichiraku Ramen stand.

"Yeah, sure."

"Thanks, partner," Mercedes winked, and slowly shrunk in size, transforming from a very-human sized Mana to a miniature version of herself, and zoomed out an open window, towards Konoha's morning.

"You spoil her," Gwendolyn called from behind the blonde Alchemist, shaking her head a bit.

Naruto turned and faced her. He smiled. "You could ask for a day off as well, you know, Gwendolyn-chan. You've never went out without me dragging you around."

"You don't drag me around," the Wind Mana replied, frowning slightly. "Besides… there's not much Wind Spots around here."

"The Wind Corridor is a Wind Spot," Naruto said.

"Like I'd like to hang out in the place where I was trapped and Corrupted," she said.

"Right, sorry," he blushed. "I wasn't thinking."

_**You never think**_, Kyuubi snickered.

_Oh shut it, baka-fox. _

"Breakfast is ready, Naruto," the Wind Mana said, pointing towards the kitchen.

"Ah, alright," Naruto said. "Thanks Gwendolyn-chan. You're the greatest."

As he moved to the kitchen, a knock came from the front door. Naruto turned. He was curious and wondering who that was. It was quite early to have any visitors, really. And a more pressing concern, who would even visit him? The only few people who would drop by were Hinata and Kakashi. The pale-eyed girl was away on a mission, her first C-Rank, and Kakashi would most likely sneak in and not bother on knocking.

As he approached, Gwendolyn, like Mercedes, shrunk to a very small version of herself. She moved casually towards the blonde Alchemist's shoulder as he opened the door, revealing the raven-haired Uchiha Saki.

"Oh, Sak… uh, Sasuke," he corrected himself. She insisted on being called by her 'male' name in public. "Morning."

Her eyes casually wandered around, roaming towards Naruto's shoulder before she specifically looked towards him directly in the eyes, and asked, "Can I come in?"

He nodded and stepped back, letting his teammate in. She obliged, and she looked around the place, her expression colored impressed. It was her first time in Naruto's workshop, and she could see many vials filled with odd colored liquids and a pot quivering, releasing steam from small ventilating holes from its cover.

"I'm about to eat breakfast, want to join?" the Alchemist asked casually.

"No, I just ate," she replied. "Kakashi just asked me to tell you that there will be a team meeting today at five. Usual place."

Naruto nodded. "Why? I thought we're having a week-end off."

"Who knows then," she shrugged. "I've just been told to tell you."

"Alright, got it," he replied.

There was a slight pause, Naruto looking at Saki, who looked back. The girl-disguised-as-a-boy made no move, making the blonde wonder if there was anything else.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Are you busy today?" she said, her eyes locking on Naruto's.

"Well, I have to meet with Shikamaru today."

"Another Shogi match?" she asked with an appraising eyebrow.

"Yeah…" Naruto shrugged. "I'm gonna win a game today. Believe it!"

Saki could only smirk as she shook her head. "When?"

"After breakfast," he replied. "I'll probably stay there until meeting time. It's at five right?"

"Yes," she said. She raised an eyebrow. "You're spending your day playing Shogi?"

"Yup."

"Oh…" she looked somewhat crestfallen.

"What? What is it?" Naruto said, looking towards his teammate.

"I… uh… never mind," Saki replied, and turned around.

"What? What is it?" he asked, confused.

"I was hoping I could ask you to spar with me, but since you're so busy-"

"Sure, I'll spar with you," he said, cutting her off. "Could use with a sparring partner. Hinata-chan's doing their first C-Class mission, and she's out of Konoha for a while. When and where are we sparring?"

Saki scoffed slightly, smiling as she shook her head. "Uzumaki, I'll say this as lightly as I can… you can't be in two places at the same time-" and she stopped when she realized something. Her cheeks flushed. "Um… right. I usually finish my warm-ups at ten. You know where I live, right?"

That got a wince out of both of them. Of course, Naruto knew where she lived. He practically invaded it to take pictures of her… and stumbled upon her secret in the worse way possible. It ended with Saki trying to convince the Hokage it was a training accident and denying the involvement of having anything to do with Naruto's old apartment going down in flames, and Naruto being threatened of castration just a few days after.

Not exactly their proudest moment.

"Um… Alright, I'll see you there," he replied with a small smile.

With that, she turned and left him, closing the door behind her. Naruto could only blink, half of him wondering what was that all about, but he was too hungry to care, and shuffled towards the kitchen to eat the great smelling breakfast Gwendolyn had cooked up.

* * *

How embarrassing, Saki thought as she briskly paced away from her teammate's workshop. For a moment, she had thought Naruto was pulling her leg in considering her offer and was about to ask him how he could even accommodate her when his schedule was full when she remembered Naruto's particular skill of cloning himself, allowing him to be on more than one place at the same time.

Still, she calmed herself, letting the flush of emotions, most notably embarrassment, wash away. Naruto would probably not have even registered her mistake. He was naïve in many ways, and that would be good for her reputation. She especially worked hard to make an impression on him, giving the image of a person you would not want to mess with when she was angry, but also gave him companionship when she was in a good mood.

Like training a puppy, she snorted. Well, no one argues with results. It worked. Naruto kept her secret, and for a good measure, did not try to antagonize her physically, though he would always have one of those smart-assed comments and the occasional slip-ups escaping his lips.

It was obvious Naruto was now considering her a friend of sorts. She too began to welcome the idea.

Still, while Naruto may not have noticed her little anger-slip, the one riding on his shoulders definitely did. Now Saki was sure. Naruto was in partnership with Manas. So far, she counted two… first, spotting two spots of light after the blonde alchemist revived her in Wave Country. After that, she had no luck in making sure until last week when Kakashi began training in developing her Sharingan.

Because of the training, her eyesight slowly developed an unnatural sharpness in them. The little near-sightedness of her right had fixed itself over the course of week, and she could see farther by two. Colors and clarity had become her focus in almost all of her time during the training, distracting her in more ways than one. It was one of the few rare occasions that she admitted that Konoha was a beautiful place.

With clarity came the ability to see Mana. Wisps of light would fade and appear near her teammate Naruto, and for a week, she would concentrate on him, wondering when a random orb of light would appear in her line of vision. Today, she had finally gotten a clear look of his Mana.

She was a very pretty Mana, and could almost pass off as a human. What gave her away were the wings in her hips, and feathers holding her hair in place. Saki did not try to have eye contact with the Mana… she did not want her to be suspicious. Instead, she faked it by glancing around, not lingering on her stare too long.

Interesting, she thought repeatedly, walking back to her home. Very interesting indeed.

* * *

Today, the Hokage tower was closed. No jobs were assigned, nor was there any activity registering to anyone outside the structure. To most people, the building empty, save for a few hidden ANBU. Granted, it's been known that ANBU are everywhere, watching. Don't let anyone tell you differently.

They were wrong of course. The Tower was in fact bustling with activity. Instructor Jounins along with a few Chuunin who taught in the academy gathered inside one of the deep structures beneath the building, lit by only a few dim lights with the Hokage at the center. Most of the adults chatted with mundane things while waiting for everyone to assemble.

"I'm here," Kurenai, Team Eight's jounin-sensei arrived, the last one they were waiting for, appeared from the darkened entrance, which also served as an exit. No one could enter or leave without others watching their movements. "Sorry. A little trouble with our return trip."

"Hmm… how are your cute students, Kurenai-san?" one of the jounins, a man with black bowl-cut hair, rather spectacular eyebrows and wearing green spandex under his jounin-vest, asked.

"They are fine, Gai," Kurenai replied easily. "How are yours?"

"Still burning with the passion of youth!" Gai replied.

Asuma, on his lips an unlit cigarette, chuckled, along with a few other jounin.

"A little difficulty with your C-Class mission?" Kakashi asked, his face mostly buried under his little orange book.

"The mission itself was fine, Hatake," she replied, then glowered, "and don't read that book in front of me."

Before anyone else said anything, the Hokage cleared his throat, earning silence in the dim room. "Now that we're all here, we can begin. As jounin-senseis, your students are all cordially invited to participate in next week's Chuunin exams."

There was a slight murmur of agreement among the crowd.

"Now, who among you would nominate their team?" the Hokage continued.

Kakashi stowed his book back into his pocket, watching as every jounin began to recommend each of their squad. It was a very orderly event, mostly because there was no limit on how many teams could apply. There was also the fact that the Exam was going to take place here in Konoha, at the home base, increasing the chances of genins here of passing. Anyone would be a fool not to let his or her team pass the opportunity.

"I shall nominate my youthful team of Hyuuga Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee for the Chuunin Exams!" Gai said with enthusiasm, not unlike him. Most of the jounin were quite used to his eccentricities to pay much attention when he posed, smiling a smile that seem to glint with his too white teeth, giving a thumbs-up.

They were surprised however, when Kakashi suddenly moved forward and declared, "I, Hatake Kakashi nominate Team Seven for the Chuunin Exams."

There was an abrupt silence. Almost everyone suddenly stared at Kakashi as if he had grown a third eye. Gai, who never usually let anything faze him, too was taken aback.

"Hmm, a bold nomination, Kakashi," the Hokage said, looking at the jounin in the eye. "Do you feel your genins, rookies no less, are ready to take on such a task?"

"I believe they are ready, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said without hesitation.

"I don't," Iruka, finally finding his voice after the jounin's announcement, said.

Kakashi spared him a look. "While I appreciate your input, Iruka, it has nothing to do with you."

"Like hell it doesn't," Iruka muttered darkly. "I taught those kids, Kakashi, long before they went under your supervision. I doubt they are ready for something like this so early in their life."

"I too agree, Kakashi," Gai stated, earning a look from the masked jounin. "I trained my genins for a year to prepare them. Don't thrust them prematurely."

"Gai, keep out of this," Kakashi replied nonchalantly, and then looked towards Iruka. "Doubt all you want Iruka. They are ready for this. You may have taught them before they came to me, but right now they are my soldiers and not your students." He paused. "Or maybe you are hurt by the fact that only a few months under my supervision, they have grown at a rate faster than they were under yours."

"Kakashi!" the Hokage declared sharply, sensing Iruka's temper rise at the jounin's barb. "Stand down, Iruka. Kakashi is right. You have no say in the matter. If he wants to nominate his team, it is his right to do so."

Iruka growled silently, his face flushed with anger but reluctantly backed down.

"Well, this is awkward," Asuma scratched the side of his forehead. "If Kakashi's going to nominate his team, then I too nominate mine."

There was another murmur amongst the crowd. And then, the other shoe fell.

"Mine's too," Kurenai declared. She'd be damned if she left her team out of this.

There was silence. Then, there was chaos. The Hokage heard everyone suddenly talking amongst themselves, loudly. Nine rookie genins in the exams? It was unprecedented. Yet there it was, happening right now. The chatter concentrated around Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai, all three looking resolved.

There was nothing else to do. Nodding, the Hokage gave the signal to one of the female chuunins. Silence fell as she began her approach towards the aged man, slowly, steadily, and handed him a scroll that she had been writing. It was the record of the participating teams. The Hokage took one last look around, concentrated a bit of chakra towards his index and middle finger, and pressed those in the list. A seal, bearing his mark, appeared on the paper making it official.

"We have our teams. I suggest all of you to prepare your teams," he declared, and rolled the scroll to a close. "Dismissed."

* * *

"Checkmate," Shikamaru declared as he moved a shogi piece on one of the squared tiles of the board.

Naruto sighed. He wanted to curse. It was only the second game since he arrived, and it was already turning out to be a lousy day for him. At first, he was rather hopeful, having a good run on the first try, cornering the lazy genin around a few corners, but Shikamaru would always slip away, manipulate the whole board while moving his king, and in one fell swoop, turned the game against the blonde, much to his frustrations.

"Yup, I knew it," Ino, stated, shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head. Beside her was Chouji, who, as always, stuffed himself with potato chips he always brought along with him.

Asuma's genin team had been hanging out mostly in the commerce part of town, not very far from Atelier Uzumaki. It was also Chouji's favorite go-to place when he had free time, mostly because of the many restaurants that spread along this area. With him, as usual, were Shikamaru, and surprisingly, Ino, who did nothing but complain how bored she was. Not surprising, those complaints turned to lowering comments towards Naruto's skill as a chess player.

"I don't know why you always come back, Naruto. You can't beat that lazy bum. Heck, our teacher can't beat him. It's the only thing he's good at," she said.

"Ah, shut it," Naruto mumbled a retort, rubbing his foreheads with both hands. "Another game! I'll win it this time!"

Shikamaru just gave him that small, lazy, annoying smile. "Sure. Set up the board."

Ino groaned. "Oh come on. He always loses! Why bother playing with him anyway?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. He gave her a lazy grimaced expression. "I play with him because its fun."

She gave him an arched expression. "Fun? I should have just gone with forehead girl. At least she ain't boring like you two. I'm going."

"Yeah, sure, Ino. Take care," he replied nonchalantly, which probably annoyed her even more. He watched her stomp away, mumbling about blonde losers and lazy teammates, and smiled when she was well away.

"Sheesh… how do you survive her? Or at least, not try to kill her?" Naruto mumbled as he began to rearrange all the Shogi pieces.

"It's a bit ironic you ask that, Naruto," Shikamaru replied.

"Huh?" the blonde said, confused.

"Never mind," the lazy genin smiled, and stood up. "I'll be back when you're done."

Naruto watched as Shikamaru walked towards Chouji, who was still eating chips, and shrugged, going back to his work, re-arranging pieces for another game. As he did, he began to plan and formulate opening moves, basing them on the last ones he had used and with Shikamaru's as well. The lazy boy always had very effective ones.

Chouji glanced at the blonde as he began to re-arrange the board and looked towards his best friend. He paused mid-way in putting another potato chip in his mouth, and whispered, "Well?"

"He's improving… a lot," Shikamaru mumbled lazily, softly as he watched Naruto. "I can see why his jounin-sensei sent him here. He's a very good at planning things on the fly. The stuff he does disrupts almost all long-term planning. He's unpredictable, and he uses that quite effectively."

Chouji just nodded at him. "How come he loses though?"

"He lacks one thing though."

"Oh? What's that?"

Naruto finished rearranging the pieces. He had a smile on his face, then looked towards Shikamaru, and impatiently tapped his foot. "Oi! Come on! Scared that I'm gonna beat ya?"

Shikamaru just smiled at Chouji. "The ability to keep his mouth shut. It makes reading him easy."

The chubby boy looked at Naruto, who was now going on and on about he was going to beat the lazy genin, and smiled. "You're not going to tell him, are you?"

"Of course not," Shikamaru replied as he walked back towards the loud-mouthed blonde. "It's all part of the game."

The lazy genin strode back towards Naruto and sat on the free chair. He moved the first piece, starting with his opening move he usually fell on a habit. He knew Naruto would recognize it, and wondered if the blonde was going to fall on a habit himself, or do something different?

Naruto did do something different. He suddenly stared at Shikamaru for a long moment, making the lazy genius wonder if there was something on his face. Or maybe behind him, he thought as he turned. There was nothing. He looked back at the blonde, who had a smile on his face.

"Hey, she's back," Naruto declared blankly, and then grimaced. He held his side, in pain, and shouted, "OW! That bitch!"

* * *

Back at the workshop, one spectacled Naruto began to gather his energy over three fate cards, two blank and the other with his picture on it. After a slight shimmer of energy, two other spectacled Naruto's popped beside the third one.

"Well, you know what to do, right?" the third spectacled Naruto asked, watching the other Narutos nod.

"Most of the things here are almost done," one spectacled Naruto said. "Did you really need to make us to help you?"

"While that is true, some of the items are about to finish simultaneously," the other one replied for the third. "We are here just in case, so our bombs don't overcook and blow up the shop."

"I still think a clone shouldn't make other clones to help that said clone do his job," the second one said.

"Why not?" the first one said calmly. "It is a logically sound. The technique is after all, all about helping in making an alchemist job a bit easier and more efficient."

"I just feel its redundant for a clone to make clones to help him with a job that he was cloned to do."

"As I have said -"

"Would you two get on your jobs already?" the third Naruto muttered darkly, pushing his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. "We can argue over the semantics later. Chop-chop."

The two arguing Narutos nodded, and hurried towards their designated positions. The third was about to take his place near the alchemic pot when he heard a knock on the door. "I'll get it!" he shouted, walked towards the entrance, and gingerly opened it revealing a young, nervous pale-eyed girl.

"Oh. Hinata," he said, surprised.

"Um… hi, Naruto-kun," she stuttered slightly, her face flushed a bit. "Is… Prime-kun here?"

The spectacled Naruto winced. The girl was dangerously knowledgeable about most of Naruto Prime's skills, mostly because he loved to brag on about it. Worse, she also understands the premises more than he does, which was wrong. Granted, Gwendolyn likes the girl, but she was still a shinobi of a different team, and if it came to a fight, she could potentially use all the information given to her freely to make short work of them.

"No… he's… busy, sorry," the spectacled Naruto replied with a bit of airiness to his statement.

"Oh…"

"Yeah, sorry, but…" and it happened. Pain came in before the memories, and the spectacled Naruto found himself almost screaming as he held his sides. He wasn't alone either. The other spectacled Naruto's felt the fire from their sides as well.

Hinata's eyes widened, and immediately helped support the Naruto closest to her as he almost fell to the floor.

"Naruto-kun! What's wrong?"

The blonde just grimaced as he leaned on the frame of the doorway, Hinata still holding him.

"Damn… she hits hard…" he muttered.

* * *

"Watch out!" Gwendolyn warned.

Naruto felt a fire of pain explode on his side. The force was so strong that he spun in the air once before landing on the semi-loose soil of the woodland area, quite far away from the workshop, and from the commerce area of town.

"GAH! Damn it!" Naruto declared as he writhed on the ground, holding his side. He glared at Saki in front of him. "That was a cheap shot!"

She just smirked. "Don't get distracted, moron. Seriously. If you were in the middle of the battle, standing straight blankly for a second would get you killed."

"I only did it because I was surprised," he muttered. "Did you have to put everything in that kick!?"

"Yes," she replied, unabashed. She approached him as he moaned, and then looked at him for a moment, before she offered her hand. "Come on. Stop being pathetic. Did I hit you that hard?"

"Yes," he replied as he rubbed his side. "Very hard."

She smiled. "Yes, well, let that be a lesson to you, Uzumaki. I think I liked you better loud and annoying. At least you moved… or more specifically, never kept still."

"Haha," he said sarcastically.

Gwendolyn, in her miniature form, flew around Naruto for a moment. "Anything broken?"

"I… I don't think so…" the blonde whispered.

Gwendolyn nodded, and settled once more on his shoulder while Saki approached now sporting a frown in her face.

"Seriously, what happened?" she asked.

"Meh, its nothing. I was just surprised when I saw Hinata-chan visit," he shrugged.

"Really? Where is she?" she stood, looking around.

"Not here. Back at the workshop," he replied.

"Ah…" she nodded. "Doesn't it confuse you, you know, having your memories scattered around like that?"

"Nah, not really," Naruto shrugged. "It's kinda hard to explain, but the skill kinda separates the memory for each of us. Um…" he paused, thinking, and snapped his fingers as the answer came to him. "Yes, like a photo album! Our memories are like photographs in an album. Each photo represents a different memory, and all of us have access to the same album to breeze through." And he looked at her. "Does that make sense?"

"A bit…" and she smirked. "You got that from the smart one, didn't you?"

"Got what?" he asked.

"The whole 'our memories are like photographs in a photo album' bit…" Saki confirmed. She smiled. "No way could you have come up with that yourself. The one who always wore spectacles probably deduced that."

"Hey!" Naruto protested, "He's still me, you know… he just picks things up faster."

"Yeah, right. Then why did you freeze up if your memories don't confuse you?"

Naruto flushed. "It doesn't, really. I was just… distracted."

"Dumbass," she snorted.

He flushed. "Hey, at least I got clones! Real body clones!"

"Heh! That's what you think!" and she formed a seal with her hands, and began to gather a huge amount of chakra. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" she said, and another Saki popped in beside her.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. He looked towards the clone, and to Saki, who seemed a bit tired. "Whoa… Kage Bunshin? That's great! I thought Kakashi-sensei said you wouldn't be ready for it yet."

"Yeah well… Scarecrow's right," Saki sighed softly, weakly.

Naruto giggled at Kakashi's nickname, and he saw her smile at his reaction. She slowly sat back towards the ground, and her clone popped away in a wisp of smoke.

"Drains chakra like you wouldn't believe it. It's basically useless in battle, but," she panted. "I'm one step closer in mastering it. Even if its just one clone… I can double my training. And the stronger I get, the more clones I can make. And the rest… well… you know."

"Ah…" he nodded. "Is it that hard?"

"Yeah," she shrugged. "Well, actually, not that hard. It only uses one seal, but manipulating your chakra… it feels like half a henge and half a normal bunshin. Very odd."

Naruto stood up. That didn't sound too hard. He wasn't a total dweeb when it came to Bunshin, he just couldn't create a passable one. His Henge wasn't too shabby either. Granted, he had difficulty in discerning smaller details in each person he Henges to, but if you take his Oroike no Jutsu, it pretty much encompasses his mastery of the technique (in his head anyways).

"Let me try," he muttered, his fingers feeling for the seal.

Saki scoffed. "Don't bother, Uzumaki. Stick to the clones you know and--"

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

He didn't know it, but he had released quite a potent amount of chakra that was so strong that Saki felt the chills at the back of her neck as his energy washed over the whole place. Plums of smoke blinded him. It was as if a fog suddenly descended from the sky and when it cleared, Naruto found himself surrounded by other Narutos.

"Wow… this is kinda weird," one of them stated.

"I feel unbalanced."

"You too?"

"Yeah, I feel off…"

"Ugh, I think we all do…" Naruto muttered, shaking his head. The Kage Bunshin technique seemed easier to do than the Bunshin but there was something wrong. It took him for a moment, before he realized it.

"Hey, pick a number from one to ten… which number am I thinking of?" he said.

"Is it number six?"

"I pick five!"

"Nine."

Yup… Naruto got it. They weren't sharing memories. Unlike the Jade Shift, he couldn't access what the Kage Bunshin clones were thinking. After being used to his other technique, he felt some disappointment with this one. Still, it wasn't that bad. From what Kakashi could explain, the technique allowed him to build an expendable army without any health concerns the Jade Shift brought along.

"You… you can do the technique?"

The words cut his train of thoughts. He looked at Saki and realized she had an odd expression on her.

Her face was paler than normal and her eyes betrayed strong emotions about them. All subtle nuances were mostly lost on the blonde. If he and his clones could read each other's minds, they would have realized they had all come to the same thought.

She looked defeated.

"Oi… you okay?" one of the clones asked, looking a bit worried. "You look like you ate some bad ramen."

Her face hardened, making the Narutos step back. Her expression reminded them of the time she had cornered the blonde in the comfort room and threatened him with sharp pointy objects. She wasn't exuding out killing intent, yet with her expression, she didn't have to.

He half-thought she was going to get her weapons out, or even form a seal to throw a Katon technique, but instead, she just turned and walked away.

"Hey," Naruto called. "Where you going?"

"Training," she replied. Then she added, "Alone."

"Wha… I thought we were sparring?" he asked.

"Leave me alone for now, Naruto," she replied, softly, yet with hard conviction.

The blonde could only frown, watch his teammate disappear from the thicket of trees, wondering what the hell was that all about. They were pretty much doing okay, especially after the whole mess at Wave Country. Sure, he'd still annoy her, but it was all in good fun, and she while she wouldn't be caught dead acting like him, he was sure she was more friendly to him before. Her inviting him to spar and train with her was an obvious sign, considering she loved to spend of her training days alone. So what had changed?

He could only come to one conclusion.

* * *

Shikamaru and Chouji blinked when Naruto suddenly muttered, "Kage Bunshin is troublesome."

* * *

"Of course there is more to it than that," the spectacled Naruto muttered for a moment. "She was obviously jealous."

"Um… Naruto-kun? Did you say something?" Hinata asked, looking from her side of the counter.

"Nothing to bother yourself about, Hinata-chan," he replied, waving his hand to wash out the whole conversation. He was sure Prime would realize it later, but trying to sell the concept to him would be more trouble than it was worth. Besides, there were other things to concentrate on.

Like the new technique.

"Though the application can be used. It's very familiar with Jade Shift, but also fundamentally different…" he began to mutter again.

"Um… Naruto-kun?" the young girl repeated, and was confused when the spectacled blonde seemed to move away, muttering to himself about Kage Bunshin and its uses.

"Don't bother," another spectacled Naruto called behind her. "He's going on his 'thinking mode'."

"Oh…" she replied, understanding. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Not really. Besides, he's gonna drag us on it soon, and we're almost done anyway," he said, moving towards the other vials and closing the Bunsen burners. "Hey, thanks for the help."

Hinata blushed. She didn't do much. When the three spectacled Narutos began to rub their sides in pain, she had helped around the workshop, mostly capping out the burners to prevent the vials of explosives from igniting.

"Its nothing," she replied modestly.

"It's not 'nothing'," the spectacled Naruto said. "I'm sure Prime will meet with you sooner than later. He missed you. We all did."

The Hyuuga Heiress face couldn't be any redder.

"Um… I'll… I mean… um… I'll be back tomorrow. Thank you for having me!" she quickly said, and dashed out of house. The spectacled Naruto could only chuckle before he went back to his work.

* * *

Time passed quickly, Naruto thought as he emerged from the workshop. It had been a terribly lousy day. He hadn't won a game from Shikamaru, he missed seeing Hinata personally, and for some reason he still didn't have a clue why Saki had gotten sour in her mood. At the back of his mind, he knew she seemed worried, even jealous, but for the life of him, he had no idea why she was worried or whom she was jealous.

Oh well, at the very least he would be seeing Sakura-chan. Right?

The sun was already sinking when he arrived at the training area, leaving a tinge of red in the sky. It seemed he was also the last of the genins of Team 7 to arrive. He spotted Sakura chatting towards the aloof Saki, who had put up her Sasuke-personality once more. Naruto wondered if the Uchiha's mood improved, only to see her eyes narrowing at his arrival.

Yikes, he thought. Part of him said he'd better leave her alone for now. "Hey Sakura-chan!" he greeted his other teammate instead.

The pink-haired girl glanced at him slightly, gave a nod, and went back to talking to Saki.

"Hey," Naruto greeted towards Saki, cautiously. "Um… are you okay?"

"Just shut it Uzumaki," Saki growled, her arms crossed in front of her.

Of course, the exchange wasn't lost on the pink-haired kunoichi, who immediately turned to Naruto, annoyed. "Alright, Naruto. What did you do to Sasuke-kun this time!?"

"Nothing, Sakura-chan," the blonde replied, confused. "I swear, Even I don't know what's going on."

"Having women troubles, Naruto?" Kakashi's lazy voice called from above them.

The three genins stopped bickering, looking up the tree where their jounin sensei greeted them from, lying down on one of its branches, thick enough to support his weight. He didn't even bother looking at them, with his visible eye on the open page of his book.

"Such a young age to have them," he continued, relaxed.

"You're early," Naruto pointed out. That fact was something obvious in hindsight, but Sakura took a moment to realize that.

"Naruto's right. You are early," Sakura eyed the man suspiciously. Then she added, "Relatively."

"I can be early too, Sakura," the jounin said.

"Liar!" she shouted.

Kakashi ignored that comment, as he always did. Instead, he snapped his book shut and jumped downwards towards them. Landing cleanly with masterful ease, he gave them a small smile, putting his orange book on one of his vest pockets.

"Anyway, my dear students, I have great news!" he declared.

"Finally got yourself a girlfriend?" Naruto asked in a tone that was derogative and sarcastic at the same time.

Saki snorted. She had been feeling lousy but even that comment got to her. She stifled it when she spotted a hopeful look from the blonde, and averted her eyes, going towards Sakura, who too looked at her only this time with a confused expression.

"Don't be rude, Naruto. You will like this one," Kakashi stated, unaffected. "For those who don't know, Konoha will be hosting an important even for a shinobi's life next week. It represents their first step to a larger world."

Naruto blinked. What was Kakashi-sensei talking about? He also noticed Saki's arms slacken, leaving them dangling at her side, her eyes widening. Sakura was less severe in her reaction, mostly because she too looked as confused as Naruto was, until it dawned to her.

"No…" she muttered quietly.

"What?" the blonde asked.

Kakashi provided the answer. "I have nominated you three to the Chuunin Exams."

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Sorry for the delay. I haven't been too happy with my initial draft of this chapter, and took at least five revisions to do so. I still think it needs work… meh.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

Later!

And another revision. I like this one a bit better. It tightened the chapter a bit, though there were things I wanted to add. Next chapter, maybe. Enjoy people.


	14. Chapter 14

Naruto, sharply dressed in a dark orange robe, dark slacks and dark sandals looked outside the window of Atelier Uzumaki, watching a blonde figure outside, walking farther and farther away until the afternoon crowd covered the figure from view. He sighed slightly, and slid his hands back to combed blonde hair as he turned, and spotted another Naruto, this one in spectacles and intelligent eyes, approached.

"Well, Secondus? Has Prime left?" asked a spectacled Naruto.

"Yes, he has," Secondus replied. "Has everyone gathered, Tertius?"

"Most of them have. Pentius is, of course, playing with Konohamaru. Better that way, I figure. His simple nature would be a liability in this meeting," Tertius said.

"Heh. Simple," Secondus chuckled as he and Tertius moved towards the inner chambers of the workshop. "At least it sounds better than Sextus calling him a 'moron'."

Secondus and Tertius entered the living area of the atelier, where in the middle sat a round table. Sitting around that table were other Narutos, each with different looks, expressions, carrying themselves in almost less than subtle differences that one could distinguish one from the other.

"This better be good," Septimus spoke up. This Naruto had a wild look about him. From his messy spiked hair which was dyed with some streaks of black, and tattoos on his face that enhanced the whisker marks on his cheeks.

"It could be," Secondus replied easily. He took his place in the table, and along with Tetrius, sat down. "As you all know, Prime is facing a slight crisis. All of us here are to offer an opinion on his options, but before that, I leave Tertius to discuss something."

As he sat down, Tertius rose from his place and nodded at him with acknowledgement. "Thank you, Secondus. As you are aware, I have been reviewing something of importance to Prime's growth as a ninja."

"Oh, finally decided to change our stupid names?" one Naruto muttered rudely. He wore a rather expensive looking silk shirt, and his blonde hair slicked back in a vain way.

Tertius just looked at him. "No, Sextus, the names stays."

"I don't want a name that would potentially raise red-flags. It's hard enough to get chicks while being ostracized for having the Kyuubi, now I have to scare away the honeys by introducing myself as a sex enthusiast?"

"First of all, Sextus, the names are derived from numbers," Tertius stated. "Second of all, everyone knows you as Prime's clones. Names are only for us, and used by us. And third, you are seriously developing a hole in the brain if you think any of us would allow you to go out and try to get lucky."

Sextus snorted. "Yeah. Because you are all a bunch of cock-blockers, aren't you?"

"We're twelve, Sextus," Secondus said neutrally.

"Going thirteen," Sextus countered.

"I doubt you or Prime can actually perform," Tertius replied. "Or any of us for the matter. I motion to move the subject after at least two years."

"Agreed," Septimus, Secondus, and Quartus declared in synch. Sextus just rolled his eyes.

"Fine. But this time, I'll be doing all the speeches. And we have to get laid. Preferably with a wild one. Older. And filled out."

Tertius rolled his eyes, and nodded. But before he could speak the subject once more, Septimus raised his hand. "Yes?"

"Sextus does raise a valid point about our names. Though not the point he was making."

Secondus raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"If our names are based on numbers, than does that mean that you, Secondus, hold the highest chair under Prime? And the fact that the ones who made up our names is Tertius, who is under you... one could suspect some political ploy going here."

Quartus frowned. "I kinda agree. Isn't it bad enough that people look down at Prime? Now we look down on ourselves as well?"

Tertius just smiled. "It's not about position, gentlemen. Secondus is our leader because he is Prime's ideal, not because he put himself there. He is the Hokage Prime wants to be when he grows up. I came in later, the personality that surfaced after realizing that dreams are useless without knowledge. Quartus is the disappointment of knowing that gaining such knowledge is without conflicts. Pentius is the inner child, the light and hope to keep Quartus' weariness in check. Sextus, as you know, popped up when Prime's biology started puberty. And finally, you, Septimus, born recently when anger, savagery and hate awoke within Prime because he thought Uchiha Saki had died to protect him.

"There are no favoritisms here, nor any type of foul play. We are aspects of Prime, and any divisiveness amongst ourselves will just harm Prime, and in turn, ourselves."

"Then why is Pentius not here then, eh?" Sextus asked.

"Don't be a smartass," Tertius replied tersely. "Pentius would rather play with the Third Hokage's grandson than be forced to participate in a meeting he wouldn't even be able to contribute."

"Well... he shows intelligence then. About time."

"Oh shove your head in a hole, Sextus."

"Gentlemen," Secondus declared, ending the brewing argument between the two. Sextus and Tertius settled down, while Septimus, who seemed to ponder over Tertius' words nodded, satisfied. Quartus just kept quiet, still frowning.

"Fine," Septimus declared. "I shall comply, for now."

Sextus just rolled his eyes. "So, what shall we name the next emerging personality? Octortius?"

"I think Octavian has a better ring to it, to be honest," Tertius replied. "Now... can we get on with it, gentlemen?"

Everyone settled down, and the spectacled Naruto nodded.

"I have been studying the Shadow Clone skill, and considering its properties, we can make use of it."

"Wouldn't another clone skill be redundant?" Quartus asked.

"To be fair, Prime cannot use the Jade Shift skill without consequences. Our little spar with Uchiha Saki made Prime consider the skill to be disruptive at the very least when it comes to battle. Lethal at worst."

"He just sucks," Sextus shrugged. "If he was better, he wouldn't even be hit."

"Considering we are all still learning, I think we can forgive him," Septimus said. "Plus, the more techniques he learns, the better odds of his survival, and the better we get to kick ass."

"I agree," Quartus frowned. "I don't like dying. Dying is bad."

Tertius looked towards Septimus. "How useful do you think the Shadow Clone technique is, in your opinion? Out of all of us, you have the best battle instincts, being borne from battle."

Septimus pondered for a moment. "It's a sound technique. It needs some application, but it may allow Prime some freedom in using clones. Jade Shift is a technique that demands discipline and caution. The Shadow Technique meanwhile just demands energy, of which Prime has a lot. Of course, it could also make him more careless."

"We can just hope then that with Prime's training, it won't come to that," Secondus said.

"Oh gods... we're screwed!" Quartus cried out dramatically. Everyone ignored him.

"Then it's decided," Tertius said. "I shall incorporate mastering the Shadow Clone in his training."

"Great," Sextus sighed. "Now, what's next?"

Tertius sat down as Secondus stood up, and cleared his throat. "As you are probably aware, Prime is currently facing a crisis. The Chuunin exams have come up, and Kakashi has unexpectedly popped the question."

"Gay," Sextus snickered. Septimus snorted quietly.

Secondus continued as if he hadn't heard the disparaging remark. "Now, unlike the shadow clones, Prime insisted the last decision is his. This is where our little democracy goes south, and we are here as advisors. Prime wants to hear our thoughts on the subject."

"What is there to hear?" Septimus asked. "Isn't his main goal to become Hokage?"

"Actually, his main goal was to gain respect, acceptance and admiration from his fellow men," Tertius replied. "Aiming for Hokage was just... coincidental. Prime had associated the position with the Third Hokage and watched as people respected and admired him from afar. However, the past few weeks of training with Team Seven, he had found those things he was looking for and maybe even more, and has left him a bit confused."

"Part of him still wants to be Hokage, but another part of him is satisfied with what he has for now," Secondus nodded. "As his ideal, I want to take the exam. If not to gain rank, it is also a good test of progress. Of course, it is also a good political step to take in making the village accept him."

"Right. Nothing is more despised in a village of mercenaries than cowardice," Sextus muttered. "Hell, I'd go for it, if not just to meet cute girls from other villages. Besides, one would wonder how our little firebug Uchiha will react about Prime not attending."

"I vote for caution, especially at this stage of his growth. Prime is potentially skilled, but also was sabotaged in training. It is only now that he is being corrected," Tertius added. "And as for Uchiha, Kakashi said the exams could be taken individually, so not attending wouldn't prevent the others from entering themselves. I say we skip this one, and wait for the next one when we are more prepared."

"Err in the side of caution is commendable, but ultimately the exam is, as Secondus mentioned, a good measuring stick," Septimus said. "I say we go in, considering the exam is taking place at home territory. Chances of survival are higher than if we wait for an exam in another Country."

Everyone turned to Quartus, who shrank under their gaze. "I... don't want to die..." he mumbled.

"Three for, two against, and one absent vote," Tertius sighed. "Prime knows our choice. It's all up to him now."

* * *

"Well?" Naruto asked nervously.

Gwendolyn shifted her head around, her expression in awe. "Where did you find this place?" she asked as she felt the wind sweep her face.

The two were currently on top of the Hokage Mountain, which was somewhat barefaced compared to the rest of the village, but there were still a decent amount of green around. The top of the mountain was swept with northern and southern winds, battling each other fiercely, while below, people scurried around like ants, unaware of the beauty that lay on top of its monument.

"It's good, right?" he replied.

"I can feel the Wind dancing... yes," she nodded. "This is a good Spot for me."

"I'm glad," Naruto smiled.

The two stayed in silence for a moment, feeling the wind whisper among them. Then, Gwendolyn spoke.

"Does it still bother you?"

Naruto looked at her. "What does?"

"I'm your Mana partner, Naruto," she smiled. "I can tell if you're worried."

"Some kind of thing between an alchemist and his Mana?"

"That and the fact the wind scurries around you worriedly," Gwendolyn replied. "They know something is wrong. What is it?"

The boy looked at her, frown gracing his face for just a fleeting moment before he gave a silly grin. "Nothing's wrong, Gwendolyn-chan. Really."

However, Gwendolyn read through it quickly. She faced him, her face filled with concern and his grin faded quickly. He looked away from her.

"The Exams," he finally said.

"Ah..." she nodded. "Nervous?"

"Not really. I'm actually more confident in taking it now than I was since I graduated, with the training you guys put me through. Even my Clones have agreed that I'm ready for it."

"You know, the sophistication of your clones is a telling sign of your growth."

"Really?"

"Yes. Anyway, where were you?"

"Ah… right. Anyway, part of me..." Naruto took a breath. "Part of me doesn't want to take the exams now."

Naruto winced, as if expecting a rebuke, but she didn't say anything. She just looked at him with an understanding expression and urged him with a kind nod.

"There was a time when I would have thrown myself at the opportunity. Now... now I don't know."

"It just means you're maturing," Gwendolyn explained.

"Or I'm turning into a coward."

Gwendolyn shook her head. "Naruto... being able to have some forethought isn't cowardice. I think you realize that maybe jumping at the earliest opportunity presented could be a mistake. Tell me, what is your goal?"

"To be Hokage!"

"And what was your reason to be Hokage?"

Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but his expression fell. His eyes shifted slightly, as if trying to remember his answer, but came up with nothing. Why did he want to be Hokage? In a minute of silence, a thought entered him. And it came to him like a cold cut from a sharp blade.

"I wanted to be Hokage... because I wanted everyone to respect me." He swallowed. "To be accepted. Or at least that is what Tertius thinks."

"Tertius?"

Naruto blinked, and then gave a small smile. "Yeah. The smart one."

"Ah. Well, it seems he has a point," Gwendolyn kneeled down, and hugged him gently. "You wanted a position where people would respect you. Accept you. Not to look down on you, But... I don't know if you noticed it, but you have found what you really needed. Me, Merdcedes, and your team. Maybe that is where your doubt comes from."

"But I still want to be Hokage," he mumbled.

"That may be true, but now you need to find a new reason to be one, then," she replied, holding him by the shoulders at arm's length, looking him straight in the eyes. "You have a strong dream, Naruto. But it was built on a shaky foundation. I think your confusion and doubt is stemmed from that fact. Maybe you ought to find a better reason to back your dream."

"How?"

Gwendolyn laughed as she let him go. "Naruto, that's for you to find out." And she gently placed a kiss on his forehead before moving towards the edge of the cliff. Naruto blushed slightly at the kiss, but recovered immediately.

"Oh come on. You were going on like some wise woman. Can't you give me a miraculous answer to my problem?"

Gwendolyn laughed as spread her arms. The wind gathered around her, condensing enough to refract light, showering around her in multiple colors of light. For a moment, she said nothing, and Naruto was left at awe at the light show before the wind scattered, snuffing away the lights and colors as she turned to face him.

"Think of it this way, Naruto. When you find your answer... it will be your own personal miracle."

Naruto left her as her focus wavered away from him, and he felt it would have been rude to stay and watch so he descended from the mountain.

Before he graduated, he had never made it to the top, and the highest he had reached was the Fourth Hokage's forehead when he was cleaning his own vandalism. It was easier now, using Kakashi's teaching of placing chakra on the feet or limbs to attach to the surface. Tertius had aptly told him that he could use the same technique on his hands as well.

How he had changed, he thought as he landed on the base of the mountain quietly. It wasn't so long ago he was laughing out loud, chased by a mob of ANBU or guards because he had vandalized property or threw paint on people who were mean to him.

"OI!" Iruka shouted.

Naruto jumped as he heard the shout, and was finally aware of someone calling him. He took a quick glance on his surroundings. He was already at Hidden Leaf Town Proper, which was odd considering he was just, a few moments ago, at the base of the mountain. He must have been deep in thought to ignore almost everything and everyone around him, including Iruka who was looking at him worriedly.

"Iruka-sensei!" the boy finally greeted. "Didn't see you there!"

"I was calling you for the last few seconds," the man replied.

Naruto blushed. He must have really been _very_ deep in thought.

"Are you okay?" Iruka asked worriedly.

"Yeah... just distracted."

"That distracted, eh?" the man grinned. "Well, are you too distracted to accompany me for some ramen?"

Naruto perked up. "Are you kidding me? Let's go!"

The two went to Naruto's favorite place, Ichiraku Ramen. There, the boy launched a digested version of events to Iruka who listened to him in silence, only interrupting to ask and clarify a few things.

"And out of nowhere, Haku disappears on me, and used herself to shield Zabuza," the boy said, his mood growing somber with each word. The memory of her still haunted him a bit.

Iruka, realizing how sore the subject was, changed the topic. "So… heard about the Chuunin Exams?"

Naruto blinked, before frowning. "Yeah. Kakashi told us about it when he gave our forms."

Iruka let the boy eat some more before he took a deep breath. "Naruto, listen. About the Exams. I know you think you feel ready and with your dream-"

"I'm not."

The man paused. The boy's statement caught him by surprise. "I'm sorry. You're not… what?"

"Ready," Naruto replied as he took another sip of broth. "I'm actually thinking of not taking the exams."

"Really? But… why?"

"Doubt," the boy muttered.

Iruka smiled slightly. "You must be disappointed."

"No. Well... maybe. I mean," Naruto scratched his head, "I feel it might be better to do the next one, after training some more and doing more missions for experience."

"That's good," Iruka nodded.

"Yeah. But I _am_ taking the next one though. I'm going to be Hokage after all!"

Iruka smiled. "That's good. I'm kinda glad that you aren't taking it, Naruto. I… I always felt you guys were advancing too fast."

"Hmph. Maybe that's why I repeated three grades. You taught me crappily," Naruto grinned.

"Hey!" Iruka smiled despite the indignant tone of his voice. "Crappily isn't a word. And if I have to remind you, you slept most your classes. Maybe that's why you couldn't pass."

"Hey, Shikamaru was worse than me."

"Well… that's true."

They both grinned to each other.

"Just so you know, Naruto… I'm impressed on how far you guys advanced," Iruka said. "Just a few months of being rookie genin, you guys technically finished an upper B to A Classification mission just a few weeks ago."

"Really? When?"

"Wave Country."

"Oh, that," Naruto shrugged. "Kakashi did his thing. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here."

"Yet in his report, he mentioned how well Team Seven performed, and I quote, 'admirably facing against the fiercest enemy with courage, tenacity and willpower'. He even said he would have to review his assessment of the team because he felt the last progress report he gave had done none of you justice."

Naruto looked at Iruka blankly for a moment, before the man sighed.

"You didn't understand what I just said, did you?"

"No, actually, I kinda did. I'm just surprised that Kakashi wrote in such description," and Naruto looked around for a moment, before lowering his voice. "He's such a lazy teacher, seriously."

"He can give that impression," Iruka replied diplomatically.

"He's okay when he teaches, but most of the time, he's late, and leaves most of the training to us, ourselves," the boy sighed. "I mean, that's fine with me and Sak... uh, Sasuke. We have our own training sessions. But... Sakura-chan. She isn't... as serious as we are. I don't mention this to her... but... you know."

Iruka understood, and looked thoughtful for a moment before replying, "I'll talk to him about that."

"Thanks."

The two then continued eating their ramen before Iruka interjected again, "So, you think Sakura isn't ready for the exams? Maybe that's why you're having doubts."

Naruto snorted. "Even if she wasn't ready, I couldn't stop her from the taking the exam if she wanted."

"If you're not taking the exams, she won't," Iruka insisted. "The exams are taken in teams of three. If any of the team is missing its members, they won't qualify."

"That's stupid. Kakashi said..." and Naruto stopped when he realized something. "Kakashi lied."

"Oops," Iruka grinned. "Though to be honest... I'm glad he did. That way, he wouldn't pressure any of you to join because your teammates want in."

"Except you just told me... great. Thanks Iruka-sensei."

"Hey, I'm not perfect," the man shrugged.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Naruto scowled, though there was a glimpse of a grin inside. He then put all effort in finishing his food before he stood up, took a few bills from his fat frog purse, and paid before leaving. "Anyways, I have to go, Iruka-sensei. Talk to you later."

"Alright, Naruto. Take care of yourself."

"Don't I always?" the boy replied as he jogged away.

It took a moment before Iruka realized that Naruto paid for his own meal, and apparently had enough money to even treat him. He couldn't help but smile. The boy was really moving on from the drab misery he had spent in his early childhood. Now, he had a new home, a family legacy, and income.

He just smiled.

By now, Naruto was dashing home. Now that he decided on not taking the exams, he needed to take a few more materials, run to Ino's flower shop for petals, get more pig iron from the blacksmith's and hide for the rest of the day.

While Sakura and Kakashi may understand, he was very worried about Saki's reaction. She had been vehemently training herself to the ground since Kakashi had told them about the exams. And when she invited Naruto to spar, the boy had to quit after two sessions, not liking the intent glint in her red eyes. It was as if there was a fire lit inside of her. It was scarier than his last encounter with her in the boy's bathroom back in the Academy days.

If Saki ever found out about his decision, it was going to get ugly. Now was the time to plan something that would placate the girl. Normally, that would mean a few flowers. Ino always kept asking him who he was wooing because he bought so many of them, until he told her he was using the petals as raw materials.

Her reaction told him the admittance was a mistake. Naruto then concluded girls really loved flowers. The TV dramas were right in that regard, at least.

Mercedes or Gwendolyn could offer advice, but how good would they be really when it comes to human girls?

Before he could even delve into that idea, he blinked as he saw Konohamaru run past him, his attention fully preoccupied in urging another Naruto to follow, too fast to even notice him. While that in itself wasn't that odd, they were apparently being chased Sakura, whose face now looked pretty demonic. Killing intent seemed to pour out of her as she gave chase, shouting threats of broken bones, beaten in faces and lots and lots of chopped limbs.

Okay, maybe Sakura could be scary too, Naruto thought. He waved his hand. "Oi! Sakura-chan! What's going-"

She turned to face him, and Naruto felt his blood freeze on his veins. Her face suddenly opened a few memories he was sure wasn't his, personally at least.

* * *

"_Seriously, Naruto-niisan, she's pretty and all, but what a rotten attitude…" _

"_Hmmm… yeah…" _

"_Besides, she's got the biggest forehead. Ever." _

"_Yup, yup. Biiiiiiiigest." _

_Sakura turned to face them. And she wasn't happy. _

* * *

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed, forcing Naruto back to the present.

"Oh crap…" the blonde boy said, and took off running towards the general area where Konohamaru and his clone, Pentius, had run to. He reached them in seconds.

"Naruto-niisan!" Konohamaru declared as Prime reached them. Then the young boy looked towards Pentius, and frowned. "Um… which one of you is real?"

"Both of us," Naruto Prime replied. "Now shut it for a moment, and run!"

"Why? We're outrunning her!"

"NAAA-RRRUUUU-TOOOO!"

Pentius, Prime and Konohamaru looked behind them, and spotted Sakura bathed in living flame chasing after them with sharp deadly pupil-less eyes. Everything about her seemed to grow larger. Her once gentle-looking hands looked like they were ready to take on an elephant, and her forehead was growing larger. There was also something written in them. No one put forth the effort to read it. They were too scared.

Konohamaru closed his eyes and took on a dead sprint. Putting everything into his run, he overtook Prime and Pentius, and hit a pedestrian as he reached an intersection.

"Ooof!" Konohamaru muttered as he flew back from the impact.

"Ouch! That hurt!" the pedestrian growled. "Watch where you're going, brat!"

Konohamaru shook his head, and looked at the young teen he had bumped into. The first thing he noticed was the peculiar paint on his face. The boy couldn't help but stare a bit but then remembered that he was running for his life.

He stood up, and said loudly, "Get out of the way, clown-face!"

By this time, Prime and Pentius had finally caught up, just in time to see a young teen with peculiar face-paint. Just behind him was another teen, blonde, female, older, and with four pigtails that made her look rather exotic. She was laughing slightly, lightening the details of her face. They were lovely, her heart-faced head accentuated her almond-like eyes and her slender neck.

But the magic fell as he noticed the symbol of her forehead protector in her neck, used like a necklace. He took notice of the same symbol on the teen's forehead as well. Foreign ninjas. If he remembered this right, the hourglass-like picture was the symbol representing Sand Ninjas from Wind Country. He then noticed a large bandaged lump on the boy's back, and the large iron battle fan on the older girl's back. Probably weapons, and considering it was even unlikely to send just two genins as an invasion force, they must be participants of the Chuunin Exams.

Or at least, that's what Tertius deducted in Prime's head. Although he agreed.

Pentius, though, just approached Konohamaru, who was now being dragged up by the collar. The teen with the peculiar face-paint didn't seem appreciate the clown-face comment and was now demanding an apology.

"Hey! Don't bully Konomaru!" Pentius said.

"Or you'll cry?" the face-painted teen smirked.

"Pentius, fall back," Prime's voice rang out. He took a step forward, and put on a neutral mask. "You. Put him down."

"Or you'll do what?" the boy sneered.

Naruto Prime heard footsteps slowing down behind him.

"What is going on?" It was Sakura, finally arriving at the scene.

"Kankuro… maybe you ought to," the blonde teen girl said. "Look. They have forehead protectors."

"Yeah, so what, Temari," the teen with face-paint, Kankuro, smirked. "They look like a bunch of green genin to me."

"But if he finds out…"

"He's not even here, relax."

Prime noted that small piece of conversation somewhere, but now was not the time. Konohamaru was still dangling in the air. The teen seemed unfazed with his threats. Maybe it was time bring someone else to put the fear of death in him. His mind suddenly received a plan, probably from Tertius, and he smiled. He relaxed his face, while leaving his body ready to spring in case it all goes badly.

"I will assume you are new here, so I won't let the ANBU just kill you," Prime stated smoothly.

"ANBU?" Kankuro asked, trying to appear unconcerned, but the slight retreat in his step made it clear he was now apprehensive. "Nice try kid, but your ANBU's gonna be too busy to bother with a little incident like this."

If Naruto could, he would have held his breathe. Instead, in an utter calm that could almost be mistaken for boredom, he shrugged, "Would be a little incident yes, if it wasn't for the fact that the boy you are currently taking hostage is the Hokage's grandson."

The teen's eyes suddenly widened, almost dropping Konohamaru like a piece of hot coal. Now his face went through the motions, his worry now obvious. But this was short lived as a linger of doubt began to appear. Naruto knew he had to squash it now.

"Now, maybe you want to throw away your life, but at least think of your teammates. Do you think they will be able to enter the exams if you are killed or detained because you bullied the Hokage's family?"

"Kankuro…" Temari, the blonde teen, called, her voice now commanding.

Kankuro growled, and slowly lowered Konohamaru. Once the boy's feet reached the ground, he immediately dashed behind Prime, and Pentius followed suit, the latter asking the boy if he was hurt. Naruto just took a deep breath. He settled it.

"Thank you," Prime said. "You may go on your business." And he turned his back on the teen.

When he did, the wind suddenly flared around him, shouting a warning. He then heard the teen whisper under his breath, barely audible if it wasn't for the wind carrying the words to his ear, "The boy may be untouchable, but you sure aren't."

Eyes widening, Naruto looked back only to see Kankuro reach for the lump on his back. Naruto called in Gwendolyn for support, only to remember that she was still recharging herself on top of the Hokage Mountain. He had also brought no weapons with him, thinking he was just going out until he could resolve his thoughts. He raised his arms, hoping to defend from whatever onslaught the teen was planning, only to hear a slight whistling sound.

A medium sized stone suddenly hit Kankuro's head, stunning him in place. And a cold neutral voice spoke out.

"If you reach for that weapon, I will cut your hand."

All eyes suddenly flew towards a figure up in a nearby tree. Uchiha Saki was sitting there, playing with a medium sized stone in her hand, staring at Kankuro coldly. She looked as she always did, with her 'Sasuke persona' coming forth, though Prime noticed that she had a sword strapped on her back.

Kankuro snorted. "Well, here comes the peanut gallery. More for Karasu then."

"Kankuro."

Prime felt as if the whole area was suddenly bathed in blood. The smell of nauseating copper cropped in the air. The wind, which was relatively calm, skittered around, obviously agitated, and another voice, a weaker one, but definitely audible, creaking and groaning in sync with the wind – to Naruto Prime, it felt as if everything around him was suddenly screaming.

Prime saw him, a branch above Saki, perfectly hidden and blended to the background despite his strange appearance. He had red hair, and had a large gourd on his back, his clothes which covered his entire body were loose and well made. He had a very neutral expression, and although he spoke in monotone, Prime had to flinch.

The boy looked of his age group, yet his sickly green eyes looked older, dangerous and quite deranged. Dark spots around them made it seem as if the boy hadn't slept a wink for a long time.

His appearance surprised everyone. It wasn't until he spoke that Prime realized his presence. Saki herself looked shocked. Kankuro's reaction, though, made it even worse. There was no other way to describe it. He had been apprehensive at the mention of ANBU. He had been shocked when he realized he was manhandling the Hokage's grandson…

But towards the red-haired boy, he was totally, utterly broken.

"Gaara," Kankuro said in a deathly whisper. "Th-they started it, Gaara-"

"Quiet," Gaara replied. "You are a disgrace."

The older boy flinched.

Sand suddenly formed around Gaara, and he disappeared. The wind howled even louder, much to Prime's chagrin, and re-appeared beside the other Sand ninjas.

Saki jumped down as well, and approached Naruto, dodging Sakura's attempt to hug him, and looked at Prime. She gave him a slight nod of greeting, and Naruto nodded back.

"Nice sword," Naruto said.

"Thanks. Family heirloom. Are they…?" she left the question hanging.

He nodded. "Yeah. Most likely."

"The red-haired one is dangerous," Saki said.

_**The Uchiha speaks true.**_

Naruto blinked. _"Kyuubi?" _

_**We're not doing this again, **__**you**__** moron. So, for the final time, yes, it's Kyuubi. **__**Why**__**? **__**Were**__** you expecting maybe the Great Pumpkin? **_

The reference was lost to Naruto. He was more surprised that the self-proclaimed Great Mana of Chaos had spoken up outside of training.

"_What is it? Who is he? And why does everything around him feel… off?"_

_**Because of your connection to elemental Mana like Gwendolyn and Mercedes, you are also perceiving the elements of nature. To you, almost all his actions feel like two blunt kunai blades slashing at each other multiple times, right? **_

"_Yeah." _

_**That's because of the presence of Corruption. **_

"_The red-head, Gaara… he's a Mana?" _

_**No, you idiot. He's like you. He has a Mana sealed inside him. And unlike you, he is contending with a corrupted one. **_

Naruto felt a shiver move up his spine. He remembered Gwendolyn before she became his friend. Or in even more recent memory, the monstrous tree which he had to burn down because Mercedes was inside. A lot of people here in Konoha considered him to be a monster, or to some, at least, a container of one.

In Naruto's opinion, he might have just met the real monster.

"Naruto," Saki slapped her teammate on his shoulder. "What the hell is wrong with you, idiot?"

Prime blinked, and looked at Saki. He then looked back at the Sand genin, walking away. He stared at Gaara's as he walked away, and along with him, the smell of blood, and the ringing in Naruto's ears. The wind calmed down, and the mysterious creaking subsided. He consciously realized that he had been holding his breath.

"Naruto," Saki called again. "Show some backbone. You might be facing him in the exams. Or are you a scared-y cat?"

She probably meant it as a joke, Prime didn't know. All he knew now was someone like him, probably worse, had entered the exam. If he didn't enter, he could save his teammates from trouble, maybe even death. But he remembered Hinata, who was still very the introverted girl she is. She would probably go along with her team, just not to cause any disagreements, and while Shino may probably not affect her decision-making that much, Kiba was very boisterous, not unlike himself. If he convinces Team 8 to enter the exam, and, gods forbid, she face Gaara…

"Excuse me," Naruto Prime muttered as he left Saki, bewildered by his aloofness, as he walked back to his workshop.

Ikura-sensei's going to be disappointed, he thought as he felt the wind caress his hair.


	15. Chapter 15

"Again," Gwendolyn ordered.

Naruto grunted with effort. He felt the wind gather at his command, like fireflies around him, moving in a uniform direction guided by his will, surrounding him. He then grouped them together, tight enough that their movement caught light and slowly bent it around him.

"Good," Gwendolyn nodded. "Keep it up."

The wind began swirling faster and faster around him, so tightly packed that there was no breeze. He held it for about ten more seconds before his concentration broke, and the wind that gathered to him scattered, leaving nothing but gentle wind running through the trees.

He muttered a curse.

"Naruto…" Gwendolyn shook her head. "Good effort, but I think you're going about it the wrong way."

Naruto gave the Wind Mana a glare. "I'm doing it as you told me."

"I taught you the basics. You cannot maintain a veil with just basic techniques."

"Then teach me!" Naruto growled.

Gwendolyn met his glare neutrally. "It wouldn't matter. Commanding elements is something more than just me teaching you how. You have to find your niche and methods in incorporating your will to them."

Naruto muttered more curses. He stalked around the training area. He was supposed to meet his team four hours from now, instead he was up, doing last minute training with Gwendolyn. If Naruto hadn't regularly been drinking a synthesized medicine that allowed him to get a full night's sleep for only 3 hours, he'd be dead tired, and most likely sleeping in the grass.

And yet even with that, there was not enough time to train enough to make Naruto feel prepared enough for the exam.

Instead of training with Kyuubi, Mercedes and Gwendolyn equally, he divided his time so the bulk of his hours go to Gwendolyn, reasoning that, as Gwendolyn mentioned once, he was more attuned to Wind, and would learn it quicker.

He did. He learned to slow his perceptions, borrowing the speed of the wind to make him move faster. He could now hear the wind, in a limited distance even while running. He learned to create gales of wind enough to defend him from small projectiles, including mist or poison. He even learned a cool trick, coalescing wind in his hands, allowing him to bend light slightly to make him see farther.

The next step was a veil, the basis similar to the last trick. Except instead of gathering wind on his hand, he formed it all around his body, theoretically making him invisible to sight, scent and even sound.

Of course, it wasn't going too well.

"You'll get there," Gwendolyn smiled. "I never had a more able student."

"I don't want to get there. I want to be there, now," the boy muttered, sitting down on the grass, arms and legs crossed.

"Some things take time," the Wind Mana stated calmly. "You did our best, more than I expected, even, with the time you had."

"Yeah, cheer up, Naruto," Mercedes, sitting down serenely at one of the nearby trees, said cheerfully. "You'll get more after the whole exam."

"I also want to know why we're wasting time in doing a stupid veil," Naruto muttered. "Why can't I learn something else?"

"The next step would be controlled flight," Gwendolyn said.

"That! I want to learn that!"

The Wind Mana smiled. "Naruto, flight, while easier than forming a full veil, isn't something you can do. Not until you can hold a working wind veil for at least five minutes."

"This sucks," Naruto sighed. "I mean, I can veil myself fine with Mercedes . . ."

"My camouflage system only works on wooded or grassy areas," Mercedes replied.

"This is Hidden Leaf," Naruto replied. "It's always wooded. And grassy," he added as an afterthought.

"And if you travel to other Elemental Countries, like Wind Country, where there is nothing but sand?"

"Well, we're not going to Wind Country now," the blonde retorted.

"Naruto, you're not thinking this through," Gwendolyn stated calmly. "Ask yourself this . . . do you know where the exams will take place?"

"Here," Naruto muttered, leaving the implied 'obviously'.

"And is the whole Hidden Leaf Village a forest, or do you have buildings?"

Naruto fell silent.

"And would it be possible that your exams would take place in one of those buildings?" the Wind Mana continued.

"If you ask nicely, I'm pretty sure they can put some hay, leaves and dead wood in those buildings," Mercedes smiled.

The blonde nodded in concession, and raised his hand. "Alright, I got it. But still. It's frustrating. I think I could do much more . . ."

Mercedes just smiled, while Gwendolyn nodded. Both understood his frustrations.

After weeks of being able to learn fighting moves and chakra techniques easily with the Jade Shift technique, learning to command elements was a very different matter. Gwendolyn explained that Chakra is energy and in a broad general spectrum enough that almost anyone with a similar mind frame can manipulate.

Elements on the other hand, are a mixture of energy and nature, which on itself, is a living being. One does not manipulate elements as easily as Chakra. Each element has their own baseline, and depending on the person's personality, his ability to command them differs in effectiveness. Naruto is more attuned to the wind elements, which he learned is as almost as fickle as he was, scatter-brained and easily distracted.

And if that wasn't enough, the only one who effectively could learn to use elements was Prime alone, none of his Jade Shift counter-parts. Fortunately, anything Prime learned, his personalities will be able to follow up afterwards.

Still, he wished they could help him out. Or at least have one personality that could learn wind.

"Naruto, you learned what you can," Gwendolyn stated. "You are more ready now than the first time you got the invitation to the exam."

"What if something goes wrong? What if I could have learned something that could have helped out -?"

"What if the tree I am sitting on suddenly cracked and tumbled down your direction?" Mercedes suddenly asked.

The blonde blinked at her.

"HHHHaonestly, Naruto, you worry too much," Mercedes shook her head, and jumped down, gently landing on the grass. "You did everything you could. It's not like you're out to save the world. It's an exam. Granted, you got someone like you running around, honestly, why did you join in the first place?"

"Well . . . to keep others safe. I guess," Naruto muttered.

"Not to defeat that Sand kid, yes?"

Naruto could only nod.

"There you go," Mercedes nodded like she had gotten her point across. Naruto was still unsure about what the point was though. "All you have to do is just have your classmates avoid confrontation with the Sand kid… or at least warn them to keep away. I mean, what were you expecting, you to go up and alone to the Sand kid, and beat him to death?"

"Well, if I did take him out of the picture, it would be much easier - HEY!" Naruto shouted as a gust of wind blew dust in his face, making him wince. When it died down, he glared at Gwendolyn. It was always something the Wind Mana did when he was doing, or even saying something wrong while they trained. It wasn't painful, but definitely annoying.

"Naruto, you're good, but if you go in charging like that, it will be a replay of your survival training with your Team except with more blood," the Wind Mana said. "And if you're dead, how will you learn more of commanding wind elements?"

"Or wood elements for the matter?" Mercedes interjected.

Naruto sighed. Part of him knew they were correct, but still couldn't help but feel worried. Taking calming breathes he moved around slightly, stealing looks at his surroundings for a moment. Moonlight reflected the grass. The passing wind whistled along with the rustle of small animals moving from trees to trees. The stars twinkled over the velvet sky.

"Alright . . . you guys made your point," he finally said. "Time to sleep."

Mercedes and Gwendolyn nodded. They gave him comforting smiles, which he returned half-heartedly. They were right. He was worrying needlessly. In a few hours, he was going to take a test that he still felt he wasn't ready to face. As he walked out of the training area, he hoped that sleep will clear out his doubts.

* * *

First thing she saw when she woke was her family seal, the fan symbol of the Uchiha she had nailed on the ceiling. Saki blinked the sleepiness off her eyes before she slid off the bed, her pajamas ruffled and unfastened in a few places. She stood in front of her full-body mirror, slowly unbuttoning her top.

She was developing too fast, she thought, looking at her naked chest.

She put on sweats and began to do her morning stretches and drills before taking a long shower, enjoying the lukewarm water for a while before wiping herself off. She got back in front of the mirror, and began doing her chest bindings.

Kakashi was right. Her secret was not something she could keep for long. Sooner or later, those who don't know will find out, and there would be a falling out; some might understand, others won't. Then there's also the political aspect. As the last female Uchiha, she will be pressured to marry, and produce off-springs to continue her family legacy.

Not before her brother gets what he deserves, though. Not before.

She sighed as she slipped on her blue and white shirt, and began binding work on her legs, putting on her shorts and her sandals. She sprayed herself with a musky scent, strong enough to make her cough, and began working on her hair.

Satisfied that her Sasuke look was complete, Uchiha 'Sasuke' began to gather her tools. Shurikens, kunai, wires, and a few explosive tags. With that done, she took a look at her bed. On the headboard, just above, the Uchiha sword, the one her mother, and her mother's mother, owned and wielded.

She took a moment to look at the magnificent weapon. Forged from the fires of the Uchiha, imbued with seals and blood to make the weapon ever sharp and durable, it was the last memento she had of her mother.

And when she took it up, it meant she took a big step. It meant she had made a choice. It meant that sooner or later, blood will be spilled by its blade.

She grabbed it, and secured it on her back. Until it drinks his blood, it's a weapon. Nothing more, nothing less. And right now, she had an exam to go to.

* * *

Sakura looked at herself in the mirror. For the first time, she wasn't even trying to do a checklist on her head regarding her looks. Oh, sure, she had made sure she took a long bath, put on a full body herbal scented shampoo and conditioner, and even got her make-up just right to make it look 'natural', but those things were done out of habit.

She didn't pose. She didn't do faces. She just stared at her reflection.

For a moment, she had wondered if she is making the right choice in entering the exams. Kakashi had warned her that it was going to be difficult. Before, difficult meant bearable as long as she was with her Sasuke-kun. Until her mission in Wave Country shaken her enough to plant doubts.

She was no fool. She had realized that right now she is dragging the team behind. Before, it was clear who would be dead weight. She had smarts, Sasuke had skills, and Naruto . . . well, Naruto had pranks. Now, her blonde teammate was an alchemist, with skill sets that now made him useful in combat and tactics.

All she can do right now is being a talking encyclopedia.

"Sakura, you awake? You're going to be late!" her mom called downstairs.

Sakura looked behind her. She looked at herself again. Kakashi had told her to take ninja training seriously. And she complained that she was. She did everything as she did back in the Academy days, adding some tree walking as well. Her accuracy had gone up, and her hand to hand combat skills improved. Yet why was she being left behind by even the class clown?

"Sakura?"

"Coming!" she said. She stole one last glance in the mirror, again wondering if she's making the right choice.

* * *

The walk back to the Academy was a bit of a nostalgic run for Naruto. He kept remembering spots where he had run from the chasing ANBU, spots where his teacher, Iruka, spotted him, and even amused himself by back-tracking his steps every time he entered or exited the academy.

In front of the academy, two of his teammates were also there, and judging by the way they interacted, they just got there as well.

He was glad that they dressed up as they always did. Granted, Sakura looked like she had a really bad stomach ache, and didn't even flirt at 'Sasuke', and Saki had that brooding stare, her hand seemingly longing to get to her sword, but really, any other day, it was like Team Seven going to another mission, and are just waiting for Kakashi to show up.

"Naruto," Saki greeted. She paused for a beat. He could imagine her saying 'Ready?' but she chose to forgo that statement, and just walked to the entrance of the academy, with Sakura and Naruto following behind her.

After two flights of stairs, a crowd of other gennin seemed to greet them, gathering around a door 301, the door where the exams were supposed to take place. But for some reason, Naruto felt a little off looking at the door, before remembering that he was, one: on the second floor, and two: that the room was originally 208, where Konoha History was taught.

He looked at Saki, who gave him a slight nod. It seems she had caught it too.

There was a slight yell and thud as a young female Konoha genin was roughly pushed away. She had fell down the floor, and looked at one of the two male older Konoha genins with heat in her eyes.

"Why won't you let us in?" she demanded.

Naruto, as per insistence of Gwendolyn and Tertius, noted anything that seemed interesting or out of place. First thing he noticed was the large scroll on her back. Then he noticed she had a really odd set of clothes that looked almost like pajamas. They looked like it hugged her well developed form, and he probably wouldn't have noticed it before but he could spot glints of metal hiding underneath.

And for some odd reason, he could have sworn he recognized her.

The other older genin shoved another male Konoha genin as well, who wore really ugly green spandex-like clothing, down to the ground. And the first thing he noticed was a really ugly bowl cut hair, with really big eyebrows to match.

"Huh. Bushy brows," Naruto muttered absently. For some reason Sakura, beside him, snorted.

"I'm doing you both a favor," one of the older genins declared. "Kids like you can die in the exams."

"Maybe so," Saki suddenly spoke, which garnered the attention of almost everyone in the room. She strode forward, seemingly clearing out her way with just sheer force of her personality, and stopped just in front of the two older genin, with the two fallen younger ones between them. "But you will let me pass."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. What the hell was the crazy girl doing?

"Take off that pathetic genjutsu as well," Saki said.

"What genjutsu?" one of the older genins asked.

"You've noticed it, didn't you, Sakura?" Saki asked without looking at her.

Sakura blinked, her face finally having some more color in her cheek. She then nodded, and gave a smile. "Of course. We're on the second floor."

Naruto watched some of the grouped genins in action. Most began to chatter amongst themselves, tones of surprise mingling with a bit of anger. Most of them, he guessed didn't catch on until it was pointed out.

"You think that you're better?" the other older genin demanded. "You're just like the rest of them!"

The older genin seemed ready to attack, and Saki looked like she was expecting it.

It all would have been a blur had Naruto not borrowed speed from the wind around him.

It was an odd sensation. The world suddenly seemed to mute and slow down, with details showing with increased clarity. Gwendolyn had explained that while borrowing the wind does make him faster, it mostly just increases Naruto's perception, allowing him to make split decisions seconds faster than normal.

With that, he saw Saki raise her arms, her front thigh and leg muscles shifting slightly to put weight on it, and the older genin, his shoulders, abdomen and legs moving as he charged in, going for the attack. Saki, almost at the same time, shifted her shoulders, hips and abdomen to raise her rear foot forward to a kick.

The older boy had more reach, but Saki seemed slightly faster. Up to that point, it was anyone's game, until the genin with bushy eyebrows suddenly stood from his downed position, and blocked the two attacks.

Impact made his arm muscles wobble slightly, but it all disappeared when he shifted his shoulders, the wobbling flowed to his back, down towards his immovable legs.

Naruto's perception went back to normal, and then felt slightly off balanced as he found it odd to hear voices. He watched on, though, taking a look at Saki's face, then back to the older genins. Both were surprised.

"That's enough," the bushy browed genin declared.

"Lee!" the girl, all her weakness and frailty somehow disappeared as she stood up. "I thought we were supposed to stick to the plan!"

"I'm sorry, Ten-ten, but…" Lee then stole a glance to Naruto's direction. And suddenly, his eyes were shaped into hearts.

And that really raised Naruto's eyebrows, until he followed that gaze back to Sakura, who seemed to realize that the bushy browed genin as looking at her, and she turned pale again.

The female genin, Ten-ten, followed his gaze as well, and spotted Sakura. She slapped her forehead with her left palm, exclaiming, "Oh for goodness' sake, Lee, we're in an exams. Can't you…" and she stopped, suddenly looking at Naruto.

"Hey!" she shouted as she paced to him. Naruto took an involuntary step back; her expression reminding him of Sakura's when she chased both Konohomaru and Pentius with intent to hurt. Before he could react, she was in front of him, staring at him in the eyes, and her hand suddenly slithered in his waist.

"Hey!" Naruto half-shouted, in a tone different from hers, before her hand reached to his kunai and pulled it out. As she did, he could only yelp a groan of protest and surprise.

She stared at it first, seemingly impressed, working with both hands, careful slowly moving her fingers up and down its length. She licked her thumb and index finger on her right hand, and slowly slid it down the edges, carefully, making it glisten with moisture.

For some reason, Naruto felt . . . weird.

"Nice," Ten-ten exclaimed. "Balanced and sharp. Where'd you get this?"

"Um… made it?" Naruto replied, honestly not knowing how to react with a girl handling his kunai. It was a bit of a first experience for him as Saki would never, preferring her own weapons, and never mind Sakura.

"Hah, yeah right," Ten-ten snorted, looking at him and then moved her head slightly, as if thinking. "Hey, I know you."

"Um… yeah?"

"Yeah. You're that brat who keeps buying pig iron," she declared.

Now Naruto recognized her. She was the daughter of the blacksmith and weapon maker where he buys his materials.

And then the insult sank in.

"HEY!"

* * *

Saki felt oddly disconcerted that all the attention went to the rest of her team. She was trying to make her team as alpha dogs to the rest, gaining small psychological advantages. Also, she had to kick Sakura back, as her nervousness was too obvious to ignore. Then, for some reason, attention shifted to the weird green genin who blocked her kick, to her disbelief, and that wasn't enough, that girl who seemed to be the weird guy's teammate was all over Naruto.

Handling his kunai, of all things.

She turned her attention to the genin in green, only to find him staring at Sakura.

"Sakura-san," he declared, walking towards the girl. "I'm Rock Lee. I will protect you with your life."

And he finished it off with thumbs up and a smile fitting for toothpaste advertisement.

"Um . . ." was the only thing Sakura could say.

"Let's go out!"

Sakura seemed to recover. "Uh . . . no. You're a weirdo."

But Rock Lee wouldn't take rejection lightly. He began to send, unbelievably, flying hearts to her direction, and Sakura just began dodging them almost comically.

"Don't throw weird things, you weird brows!" Sakura exclaimed. "I almost didn't escape with my life!"

Lee looked a bit put off. "You don't have to be so negative you know . . ."

Saki would have appreciated the irony, having someone as hard-headed as Sakura given a taste of her own medicine, but now wasn't the time. The momentum she had tried to build halted - no, crashed, as the other teams began to laugh at the sight, and began to disperse.

She sighed. She couldn't blame anyone. Naruto, for once was quiet and let her do the work. Sakura followed her queue almost perfectly. All was well until another team began flirt and talk about kunais with her teammates.

As the crowd dispersed, one lone figure emerged. Judging from his clothing and his pale eyes, he was from the Hyuuga clan. He looked at Saki, studying and contemplative.

Saki felt apprehension flood through her, but squashed it soon after. The Hyuuga clan was one of the few clued in. There was nothing much that could be hidden from their eyes, but at least they were sworn to silence. So she thought, what the hell, and mimicked the Hyuuga's posture, and returned his stare.

"You handle yourself well," the Hyuuga muttered. "What's your name?"

Saki smirked a bit. So he wanted to play eh?

"You know, if you want to know someone's name, you have to introduce yourself first," she replied.

"Are you a rookie?" he asked.

"That is none of your business."

The Hyuuga 'hmphed', and turned away. "Lee, Ten-ten. Let's go."

"Okay, Neji!" the girl, Ten-ten, declared, dragging the disappointed Lee with her. As they walked the halls, the girl began to berate Lee, voices fading as they moved further and further away.

"Sasuke," Naruto called behind her.

She turned, and her mouth opened for a moment. She quickly changed her mind, snapped it shut, and just gave him a nod.

It wasn't his fault that the other team was composed of weirdoes. And besides, having some normal attention to an older female with interest in his kunai would have definitely left him a bit confused.

They climbed the stairs to the third floor, which opened to a vast expand of a hallway. The third floor of the academy was mostly bare bone as its primary function was a general room for the first and second year genin.

Naruto smiled as they passed by the hall. He could see folded matting that would be placed on a sunken portion of the floor, creating a perfect place for them to spar without worrying about litter or stones on the ground. The enclosed surroundings ensured that excitable rookies wouldn't overthrow sharp weapons that would hit civilian passerby. And it also severely limits how many students would skip classes.

"WAIT!" a voice shouted from behind them.

Team 7 stopped, and turned. Naruto blinked, surprised to find the bushy-browed teammate of that weirdo blacksmith girl was there again, staring at them. He gave a polite bow, and slowly pointed towards Saki.

"You with the dark eyes," he exclaimed. "I'm here to challenge you."

Saki blinked, and then snorted. She stepped forward, and crossed her arms at her chest. "Oh?" was all she said.

The boy shifted his pose, spreading his legs slightly into a fighting pose. "I am Rock Lee. As you have said earlier, if I wanted to know someone's name I should introduce myself first, right, Uchiha Sasuke?"

Saki lowered her hands, and slowly smirked. "You know who I am, yet you are foolishly challenging me?"

"I want to test myself and my skills against a genius of a great clan," Lee replied calmly, raising an open palm facing outwards, his other arm going right behind him.

Naruto frowned, and slowly moved to Saki's side.

"Hey, Sasuke," he said. "Why don't you let me handle this?"

Saki stared at him for a moment, a question lingering in her eyes. But before she could even reply, Lee said, "I am sorry, but I have no time or interest in you."

'**Ooh, burned.'**

Naruto blinked. It was a while since he heard from Kyuubi, and then the comment hit him. He felt something hot flash through him as he glared at Lee. "HEY! That was uncalled for!"

Lee didn't waver. "I apologize, and I don't mean to be rude, but I am not interested in fighting you right now. Only Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto growled, his hands shaking into fists. Before he could charge in though, a steady hand grabbed his shoulder. He looked back towards Saki, who shook her head slightly.

"Don't lose your temper," she whispered, barely audible.

"Let me go," Naruto muttered in the same volume. He shifted his shoulders hard, but her grip wouldn't loosen.

"Think about it for a moment. He's baiting you to attack. In a way, he's trying to bait me too," Saki stepped forward. "Don't be used against me, Naruto. Or I won't be too pleased."

Naruto growled again, but he began to take a few calming breathes. Psycho girl was right, as much as he hated to admit it. Part of his anger was of his memories during the Academy days, being pushed aside in favor of the brooding Uchiha. It was bad enough that adults talked bad about him, and kids of his own age seemed wary of him at first, but his teachers. . .

Most of them always favored for 'Sasuke'. He came from a prestigious family; he was skilled, mature, and quiet. And he wasn't Uzumaki Naruto. Everything he did was always overshadowed by his Uchiha classmate. So he pitted himself against the brooding bastard who always smelled funny, whose face was too feminine, and who always had that arrogant smirk on his face.

He now knew that wasn't the whole truth. Saki lived a double life, and while she is arrogant, and definitely quite psychotic, she wasn't purposely showing him up. She spoke with reason.

'**Or you're just whipped.'**

Naruto ignored the fox as he heard Tertius in his mind beginning to advise him on other things to think through.

Lee, as weird as he looked, was still a ninja. He was also older, more experienced, judging him from the moment he dropped his helpless act to impress Sakura. There was definitely a possibility that he may have been baiting him to attack, maybe to even illicit a response from Saki.

Tetrius didn't need to advise him further as he began to lean towards a logical conclusion. Lee would have most likely kicked his ass to the curb if Naruto had just charged in without second thought.

'**Heh. . . maybe you do learn.'**

'_Oh shut it, Kyuubi.'_

"Don't underestimate him," Naruto finally muttered, turning to Saki.

Her eyes turned red as her Sharingan activated. "I won't," she replied with a slight smile.

Naruto nodded, and moved to his other teammate, who began to berate him slightly for trying to act cool as her crush. He partially blocked her out, opting to watch Saki slowly approach Lee, her arms slowly relaxing at her side, something she always did before their spars. After a few seconds, she began to slide to her fighting stance.

"Seriously, Naruto, don't be jealous," Sakura finished, huffing out the last sentence.

Naruto scowled at that. Jealous? He wanted to deny that, but he could hear Tertius calm voice advising him that something is about to happen, and he should gather some intelligence.

So he watched.

"The Sharingan," Lee declared as he looked at Saki's eyes. "I'm honored."

Saki snorted. "You are either brave, or really stupid."

"We will know soon, won't we?" Lee challenged.

Saki waited for exactly just a second before she charged in.

Naruto borrowed the speed of the wind surrounding him, and the world slowed again with clarity. Saki's speed had increased tremendously by the past week, no surprise really, having spent most of her days sparring with Naruto, and continuing the tree climbing training with her single Kage Bunshin.

But Lee was faster. His open palm caught her fist and led her forward. Riding the momentum, he ducked and swept his leg.

Saki wasn't caught unawares. She jumped away immediately, turning as she swept her own leg to the crouching boy, only for the attack to get blocked. Grunting, she spun around, keeping her momentum, and kicked out with her other leg, only to catch a hard hit in her midsection that got her flying.

Sakura's mouth was open, her expression mingling between shock and awe. "B . . . But Sasuke-kun's Sharingan . . . What kind of ninjutsu or genjutsu is Lee using?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "He's using neither," he whispered. "He moved using pure - "

- speed, Saki thought, her thinking the same line as her blond teammate's. Understanding must have shown in her face because Lee nodded.

"As you found out, I'm not using ninjutsu or genjutsu. I'm using taijutsu."

He disappeared again, and Saki raised her arms to block the next attack. She defended herself from a few attacks until she felt another hit on her abdomen. Growling, she spun around, aiming for a kick, only to see Lee calmly move away, and sent a powerful kick to her face.

She moved her arms to defend. She missed completely, as she felt a hard kick rattle her teeth as she was launched in the air. Another chakra burst and she detected Lee right behind her, shadowing her flight.

"You are hailed as a genius so you may have realized that the Sharingan allows you to see through attacks, and copy techniques," Lee's bandage wrapped around his arm began to loosen. "But it's useless if you can't move fast enough to act. And I will prove it that a hard worker like me can beat a genius like you."

Naruto saw enough. He moved his arm swiftly into one of his storage seals in his sleeve jacket, and summoned Riblam. He aimed at Lee, setting for stun, finger ready to pull the trigger.

He was beaten by a second.

A pinwheel, of all things, caught the loose bandage, pinning it to the ground like a kunai would. Lee, his arm caught, saw the pinwheel and instantly twisted his body and landed cleanly on the ground. Saki, a little bit disoriented, landed in a heap, her breathe rasping as Sakura ran for her. Naruto still held Riblam, and looked around alert, not wanting to get caught off guard.

Someone must have thrown that pinwheel, and that someone was still in the room.

"LEE!"

Naruto turned, aimed Riblam at the source of the shout, only to balk. Of all the things he expected, a turtle wasn't one of them.

Lee immediately kneeled down in front of the turtle.

Ignoring the scene, Sakura checked Saki, and asked, "Are you okay, Sasuke-kun?"

Saki wouldn't reply, her arm shaking slightly as she spotted Lee talking to the talking turtle.

"You were watching," Lee muttered.

"That technique is forbidden," the turtle muttered in a grave voice.

"I'm sorry. I was just. . ."

Lee's explanation was cut off when the turtle's eyes narrowed to a glare.

Naruto sat there for a minute, trying to get his brain to work. He couldn't. All he could think of was that a turtle of all things is scolding Lee.

'_His jounin-sensei?'_

'**Don't be stupid, brat. It's a summoned creature. Though it has a magnificent glare.'**

Naruto had to agree. Lee flinched when it was directed to him. "I wasn't going to use the other technique - "

"That is no excuse," the turtle exclaimed. "You are a shinobi, and without reason, you revealed your technique! I thought you were taught better than that!"

Lee was silent.

Naruto dismissed Riblam, and began to slowly make his way to his teammates. He automatically took out a healing potion from his storage seal of his jacket, and handed it to Saki, who gave him a brief thankful look before she drank it. Only then did her breathing begin to normalize.

"Are you ready to pay?"

"Yes," Lee replied, though he probably didn't mean it. His swallow was pretty audible.

"Then . . . here comes Gai-sensei!"

Naruto felt unnerved as he felt the wind suddenly blow around the top shell of the turtle, and another a controlled burst of chakra. Smoke was produced out of nowhere, and then dispersed, slowly revealing . . . an adult Lee.

In a weird pose.

"Geez! You guys are the epitome of youth!" declared the adult Lee.

Three jaws dropped down. Sakura's was probably the lowest, driven speechless. Saki looked worse off since the fight. And Naruto. . . he didn't know what was more disturbing; the appearance of an adult Lee, or the fact that Kyuubi was pretty much laughing his tail off.

'**Oh Ancients! Spawns! Spawns!' **

'_Shut it fox. . . it's weird!' _

"Yo, Lee," the adult Lee greeted, smiling. His teeth sparkled too.

"Super thick brows. . . super bowl cut. . ." Naruto whispered. "I'm still sleeping. . . aren't I? 'Cause this is too freaky, even for me."

Lee turned and glared. "Hey! STOP INSULTING GAI SENSEI!"

'**I love this exam already.'**

'_Easy for you to say. This exam is filled with weirdoes!' _

"Lee," Gai called.

Turning his back to Team Seven, Lee flinched, but looked resolved as he faced his sensei, and nodded. That was apparently the signal, as Gai suddenly shouted, "YOU FOOL!" and gave an explosive punch that drove Lee flying.

Saki couldn't even react to what she was seeing.

Team Seven watched, still, maybe thinking that any slightest movement will garner the attention of those in front of them, watched as Gai approached Lee, and went down to one knee. His eyes began to tear up and fall like faucets.

"Lee," Gai said. "You. . . are. . ."

"Sensei!" Lee declared, his tears also falling like his teacher's. "I . . . I . . ."

"Enough, Lee. You don't need to say anything anymore."

Apparently, that was also another signal as Lee shouted, "SENSEI!" and hugged the older man.

"Can we go now?" Saki whispered.

"This is what youth is about!" Gai declared. "Youth and mistakes go hand in hand."

"You are too forgiving, Gai sensei!" Lee replied.

Gai just smiled, and stood up, pointing towards a wall, and said, "Now, towards the sunset! One hundred laps around the practice range!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei! I will run those laps now!"

"Yeah, I think we should go," Naruto agreed with his teammate.

Gai blinked, and then smiled. "As much as I appreciate your youthful enthusiasm, maybe you should do it after the exams."

"YOSH!"

Sakura just nodded, maybe agreeing to Naruto wholeheartedly for once. But before she could move a step to sneak away, she noticed Gai looking at her.

"Too late!" she declared. "He's looking over here!"

Gai smiled at them, and then looked thoughtful. "Excuse me, but aren't you three Kakashi's students?"

"Uh. . . yes?" Sakura mumbled.

"How is he doing?" Gai asked.

"Um, okay, I guess," Naruto replied. "Why? You know our sensei?"

Gai just smiled. "Some people may refer us as 'Eternal Rivals'."

"I don't believe it," Saki muttered, dead-pan.

Gai's reply came from behind them. "You should."

Naruto blinked, and almost in synch with Sakura and Saki, turned around, and spotted Gai behind them. His eyes widened. Lee's sensei wasn't even a second in front of them . . .!

"We have an ongoing record," Gai continued, as if he hadn't teleported behind them, or even paying attention to their flabbergasted expressions. "50 wins, 49 losses to my advantage. You can say I'm stronger than him."

Gai flicked a kunai lazily, hitting the windmill releasing the bandage without even looking. His eyes were on Saki. "I apologize for my student, Lee. This won't happen again, I swear on this beautiful face," and proceeded to point at himself with his thumb.

Sakura just stayed still, not wanting to comment.

Naruto's eyes strayed towards Lee again.

"Well, you guys should go to the exam room," Gai smiled. "And Lee!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei?"

"Good luck!" was all he said before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

A few minutes passed in silence as Lee began to reapplying the bandages in his hand. When he seemed satisfied with it, he nodded towards Team Seven, and pointedly said, "Uchiha Sasuke, I must say one last thing."

Saki looked at him, her face still blank.

"I have come here to pit my abilities, as there is one genin, who is probably the strongest of the Leaf that I wish to defeat. He's on my team," he said. "And you are also one of my targets." He walked away. "Good luck with the exams. Until we meet again."

Saki watched as Lee faded from view, and suddenly felt a wave of nervousness. Her fists began to shake as she felt her cheeks burn.

Humiliation. Not the worst since that fateful day, but nonetheless something she rarely experienced, and an emotion she loathed.

"Wow," Naruto finally broke the silence. "Seems Uchiha's aren't worth much these days."

Fire. Her nervousness faded, giving way to anger.

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Shut up!" Saki seethed. "I'll beat him next time."

"You'll probably get your ass kicked next time."

Saki glared at her blonde teammate, her body turning aggressively towards him. How dare he?

How. Dare. He!

Naruto met her glare neutrally, his face relaxed. "You saw his fist?" he muttered. She must have looked confused, because Naruto turned to his side, placing his hands behind his head. "Callused. His hands were heavily callused."

Saki blinked. She then remembered what Lee said during the fight. "Prove a hard worker can beat a genius," she quoted.

"Exactly," Naruto shook his head. "He worked hard. More than you probably ever did."

Saki growled, and turned. The blond idiot had a point.

There was another minute of silence, Saki's fire of emotions slowly built up to something else. Her fists began to relax. Her usual smile began to form in her face.

"Good," she finally declared. "It seems the exams will be fun."

Naruto looked at her, his smile almost similar to hers. "No doubt. Come on."

He walked, leaving the bewildered Sakura and the smirking Saki alone going towards the hallway. A few moments later, Sakura followed, calling Saki to move as well.

Uchiha Saki moved her hand to the hilt of her family sword her lips forming a somewhat satisfied smile.


End file.
